Kim and I have been married 31 years this past December. Although our fathers were born and raised 1,500 miles apart, they had many things in common. They both had the same first initials; R.D. Kaye and R.D. Clark. They were both raised on a farm, Roy on a dairy farm in New Brunswick, Canada and Kim’s father in Live Oak, Florida growing crops.
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- R.D. Clark
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- Larry, Philip and Roy Kaye
They both owned and rode motorcycles in their younger days. Kim’s father had a career with Sunbeam Bakery deliverying bread in the early morning hours to grocery stores in the Jacksonville area. Believe it or not, my dad worked for a competitor, Merrita Bakery doing the same exact thing during the late 1950′s and early 1960′s. Both were married for over 50 years. Both men labored extremely hard with their hands. Both had strong mechanical aptitude and could fix most anything. Roy mastered his skills building his own home in the early 50′s and maintaining some apartments he owned in Riverside. R.D. Clark on the other hand also built his own home and honed his skills on room additions for family and being the maintenance man for a number of widows in the neighborhood.
While both men had modest high school educations, they provided ways for their children to attend college and virtually all of the grandchildren have a college degree with a few of them attaining a Master’s degree. The similarity and impact of their lives on family, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and community is truly remarkable.
R.D.Clark passed away on May 2, 2012 and Roy Kaye passed away on May 1, 2004. Both men were laid to rest on May 5th eight years apart. We will always remember!
Excellent article about both of your Dads.
Thanks Irene, they were both very special in their own way and surprisingly similar.