Ole worked as a carpenter for his father as a young man. He made a canoe in 1937. He then went on in 1938 & 39 to use those woodworking talents, to create violins. I remember him telling how nervous he was, the night one of those violins debuted in play, in the hands of a professional musician at the local symphony. Not to worry, it created beautiful music and this beautiful music would continue throughout the rest of his life.
Ole made many items which displayed his talent at woodworking, including shelves, bunkbeds, a baby cradle and pin cushions with a masterfully crafted storage tray inside.
In 1941, he volunteered to join the United States Army. He was married on October 25, 1943 to his LOVE, Anna Louise Martin (our dear mother).
He served in Europe during WWII. Starting as a Private, he ultimately went on to Officer Candidate School and was a Captain, at the time he completed his service….something only a minute percentage of individuals ever accomplished.
When we were young, we saw our Dad work hard on the land his girls grew up on, the Lazy T Ranch. There were Hereford cattle to be raised & he branded calves with family and friends. Oh yes, Dad even built the house we grew up in.
As we remember our Dad, we are in awe of what a Renaissance man he was.
To quote one of my five (5) sisters…. “Dad, has an inquiring mind with a thirst to feed it” and so he did….
He repaired the first old black & white televisions, decided to learn locksmithing through a mail order class, made rosaries, sharpened saws & knives (sharing that with his sons-in-law) and fired up a kiln and produced beautiful “enamel on copper” pieces. He even oil painted & worked with pottery. He was talented and creative with leather, custom making a protective case for his 35 mm camera. He artfully tooled purses, billfolds & other leather products. He even made a beautiful saddle for Sugar Babe, one of the horses on the ranch.
Regarding CAMPING: He had an incredible sense of direction. Don’t worry about getting lost, it’s okay, it’s an adventure. He was a great photographer and documented many beautiful images. His viewpoint was, “I’m so glad I brought myself to this place!”
While recovering from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, he began building Grandfather clocks for each of his girls, including Mom. While beginning with kits he ultimately modified those kits and turned in “recommendations for improvement ” to the company, who incorporated those changes in their kit production. During this period he made carriage clocks for the grandchildren of the time.
He grew orchids in the 1960’s and 70’s and received awards for his prize orchids and flower arrangements he created. I remember those exhibitions at the very young North Park Mall. One of our favorite stories came from Dad propagating orchids from seed on agar in a flasking case he constructed, to provide for an aseptic environment. A fellow orchid society member, a surgeon took his orchid seeds into a surgery suite to flask them. The net result was contamination, while Dad’s HOME GROWN flasking case yielded 100’s of beautiful little orchid plants covering the multiple little agar plates. Besides orchids, Dad also grew African violets & received awards such as the “Best Seedling” & “High Score”. He worked for 15 years at Texas Greenhouse Company in Forth Worth & he prepared custom designed greenhouses for several clients.
While nearly all his precious orchids were lost in December of 1978, during an extended power outage at the farm in a harsh WINTER, Dad did not lose heart. He just branched out to explore other possibilities. He joined the Texas Faceters Guild and the Arlington Gem and Mineral Club. He faceted a wide variety of beautiful and award winning stones and created exceptional pieces of silver and turquoise jewelry that he gave to his wife, daughters and friends.
A cast has been made of the silver ring that he created and wore every day & will become the wedding ring of his grandson Allen in October this year. That meant a lot to him.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson Disease in the mid 1990’s. When asked how he was doing he’d always say, “Best I can”. Dad has always been an inspiration. After breaking his hip, I asked him what he was doing at the time he fell. He said he was watering his lemon tree. I asked him, “Dad, where did you get a lemon tree?”. He answered, “From my iced tea at lunch.” [SMILE]
Even at the nursing home, staff, including the geriatric specialist, commented on how Dad was always busy with his hands. They marveled at how he artfully shaped peach seeds into tiny monkeys with files and a pocket knife.
Dad did not let adversity stop him.
Parkinson’s Disease took his voice. Staff could not understand him at the nursing home and he began to use hand motions to communicate. In March of this year, he began treatment at the Texas Voice Project for Parkinson Disease. The voice exercises were intense but helped Dad regain his VOICE. He graduated from the program “Magna CUM LOUD” in April 2011 . He continued to go to the weekly sessions with other patients & helped inspire fellow patients who were struggling. He was the “most senior” patient in the program, “By one week” and was proud. His weekly session voice therapist was touched by his sweetness, positive attitude & sense of humor. She was frequently amazed at the complex vocabulary responses that he would come up with. One of the patient caregiver’s saw how readily he would respond to the thought provoking exercises & said wow… today is the OLE SHOW.
During the program, I asked him how he felt. He responded, “I feel like a new man”…. WOW. What a Blessing!
At graduation, he was asked “Mr. Martinsen, what is the biggest thing you’ve experienced since coming to the Voice Project… he said. “I’m not ignored anymore”. Staff at the nursing home noticed. Of course, he had good days & bad with his voice but he always kept trying.
He kept going to class & even the last day we tried to get him there…Dad said “let’s go”. We drove to the Voice Project but didn’t get out since Dad was feeling dizzy. I later came to understand that he was experiencing low blood pressure & needed some supplemental oxygen. IF sheer WILL could make impossible things happen… Dad would be a person that would “make it so”.
[SMILE] Dad was not known as a great singer. But he embraced yet another opportunity when asked to participate in the SPEAK OUT program for Parkinson Patients. The Founder of the program encouraged Dad to try just ONE session & see if he liked it. He did, AND WAS HOOKED. He practiced the songs along with a CD & amazed caregivers at Signature Pointe on the Lake. He was aiming to participate with over 100 other Parkinson Patients at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, Texas on Sept. 10th. I loved hearing the words of the many songs. I especially liked “don’t worry if it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing, sing a song”. Dad was energized by looking FORWARD, not back. The VOICE PROGRAM really gave Dad an improved QUALITY OF LIFE. We are so grateful!
Dad KNOWS how much ALL OF US love him, sons-in-law as well as daughters, his grandchildren AND great-grandchildren. HE told me so.
This week when I asked him, “Did he know how much we all love him, he said “I KNOW”. This crosses all the generations that he touched.
I came across a Father’s Day card in our home office and I gave it to Dad this past week. Why Wait for Father’s Day?
It Said….
Dad, IF I spent the rest of my life trying, I’d still never have enough chances to tell you how much your love, your guidance, and your trust in me have always meant to me…
There will never be enough words to say or enough ways to show how very much I love you AND how proud I am to be able to call you my Dad.
Happy Father’s Day & Every Day!
ALL my sisters feel the same & we thank God for having him in our lives.
I told Dad about a mantra that I have with a dying friend in St. Louis. I always say, “Love you Always & Forever, No matter what!”. That is now our mantra with both Mom & Dad.
AND… to borrow an expression from a friend… THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES!
ALL you next generation… MAKE HIM PROUD!
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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