Ralph Robert Wensinger

West Point, 1959

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Elaine Wensinger Knowles on July 2, 2019:

Hi Daddy, I have warm, bittersweet memories of my own that come flooding back from 1966-1968 of a little girl and her beloved father making snow angels and snowmen, flying kites, teaching me to ride my bike without training wheels, making waffles on Saturday, going up to the Air Force Institute of Technology at night while you worked on your thesis and I drew on the blackboards with colored chalk. I remember the fun we had when we went camping, hiking and we frequently drove after dinner to watch the leaves change color. My younger sisters 2 & 3 stayed home with Mom who said they were too young to go. Dad came home after working all day and taught me to read when I was 3, with a Dr Seuss book that Grandfather had sent me. I loved it when we went flying on Sundays in a Cessna, everything looked so tiny down below. I treasured every minute that I had with you, you were my hero and I put you on a well deserved pedestal. You were the best Dad a daughter could ever have had. I wish my sisters could have been older and could have KNOWN you. I have all the pictures, letters, Wensinger family lineage record that Grandfather traced back to the 1700s in the 1960s. As well as visits to CA,FL,VA, that Grandmother Grandfather Aunt Rosalyn Aunt Marilyn and my cousins shared with me many decades ago. Last year I shared the Wensinger family lineage record with Aunt Marilyn's daughter, (our cousin Diane), Diane's daughter Jenny. She knew about you Daddy and honored your memory. We exchanged emails. And since I am the "older sister" it is my duty to share the family history that my beloved Aunt Rosalyn, Grandmother and Grandfather bestowed on me. She was keen to learn about her ancestors and I referred her to Aunt Rosalyn and our eldest cousin Karl to share more ancestral history about our Dad. It's natural to want to know where you came from and to be part of the Wensinger family. It is snarky to criticize someone because you envy that they had a deep, close bond with our Dad. Respect that their grief is overwhelming rather than resent it. Any photos or memorabilia I have of you Daddy or the Wensinger family history, I will gladly share. It is my responsibility as the oldest daughter. You need only ask. Well Daddy, you will be meeting your two granddaughters in two days. Olivia is in NY for two weeks and she will be "stopping by to see you" on the 4th of July with her sister Juleppe, who is flying in from Wisconsin to go with her. Love always to my beloved Daddy, Elaine

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