Author - billfoster67
Submitted By -I only knew him for two months. But he fixed everything, underneath floats, pick up trucks, knew what needed to get done...knew where to get the parts... could break down a truck and put it back together. And not only that he was funny. He made you laugh. You would go to him with your head down and say your truck was broke... and he knew you tried to get work done on top of a mountain. Or something broke because you were trying to get the work done. And he loved it when you helped in anyway, he put you at ease and told you he would fix it- a 100000 asset.
I know journeyman lineman think of mechanics as just support, they don't move jobs or do the production. This mechanic did. He is sorely missed across the country. I have talked to my friends throughout the US, and they all knew Dale and were shaking their heads. What a loss not just for Par but this industry. He was a standard bearer for his craft.
If you didn't know Dale. You were like amazed. If there were ten trucks down, he was like a doctor. They were triajed, the parts were ordered and the trucks were fixed not in a week but in days or hours. And you were like wow, the wind was blowing- the weather would be foul and cold. And the guy would be fixing the truck, under it and on top of it- Not part swapping but fixing it. I never saw a mechanic like him. A mechanic that was actually integral to the production of line.
At Greeley NE, we put 285 H structures in the ground in real bad terrain, from snow to mud up to our knees. We did it in 21 days. And the lineman don't deserve all the praise, but the mechanics our the ones that kept us going- especially Dale.
He left a wife and a fourteen year old girl that he absolutely loved. I believe he is out of 53 or Topeka. If anyone has any info about a memorial fund- I really would like to contribute. His daughter is definitely will need some help, emotionally. Thanks brothers.
God Bless Him,
I wonder if there is a tool box waiting for him in heaven?