Jake Raby's dad died, Sadness strikes a 914 supporter Options

[HAM Inc]

Just thought I'd let the community know that Jake's dad died in his sleep Wed night. The following is by Jake from his forum.

Today the RAT family lost our Father, my Dad, Harry. I could not reach him by phone today, so I took a break from the dyno to find him peaceful in his bed. After all of his nightmarish surgeries and weeks spent in the Hospital with heart problems for the past 20 years+ he was able to go peacefully in his own home where he had lived for the past 40 years.

My Dad may not have started this company, but without him and his constant inspiration over the years none of what we have created as a team would exist. My Dad gave me a tool box and a whole lot of support along with a concrete floor poured into an old hog pen and we started buying, selling and working on old VWs after my Mom died when I was 14 years old. The rest of this story is long and detailed, but that old floor, tool box and support is what started everything that these forums and our work is all about.

My dad wasn't a mechanic, but he was handy.. He never twisted wrenchs here but he continually gave me the support, drive and the challenge to do better. He taught me from a very young age about how to conduct business, how to be fair and how to be honest. He taught me to tell it like it is, be forward and that if that pissed someone off, so be it because it was the truth. He taught me that the "Only way around trouble is straight through the damn middle". Every day I have worked to meet his expectations and I'll do so for the rest of my life.

He answered our phones here at RAT for the last 4 years. He enjoyed talking to people from all over the world that were calling to inquire about what we could offer them. He will be impossible to replace, because he would talk to some people for long periods of time when they called to talk to me when I wasn't available. He wanted me to be successful and he'd go out of his way to get messages to us, even when he didn't feel like it. He has literally had a heart attack while talking to a customer, but he still got the job done!

He would sometimes tell stories to people that called about how all of this got started, and he took great pride in knowing that what we started over 20 years ago was able to grow into the following that is the heart of this forum and our customer base.

Up until last night he was feeling fine, he had been on his tractor in the yard and tried to fire up his 1949 Willys Jeep too. He had grilled some burgers and made one for me last night, so I took a 5 minute break from the 911 engine I was building to go grab the burger and he was feeling fine.. He took all of his meds as prescribed last night and his vitals that he logged down around 9:30 last night were fine.. Some time in the night he passed away, probably from one of the arteries that had a 90+ blockage that we couldn't find a surgeon that had enough balls to try to repair for the umpteenth time. We were told last month after his last heart attack that his time was drawing near and he and I both knew that too. We spent more time together and earlier this week we had some good times target practicing and sighting in rifles for hunting season. I knew it would be soon but didn't expect this, not now especially since he had been more active and wasn't eating quite as many nitro tablets as he was before. (He consumed Nitro like candy, but he kept going and kept working)

My Dad had pre-arranged his own Funeral and it was his choice to have a small family and close friends get together so thats what we'll be doing sometime over the weekend.

My Dad was a Shriner, so in lieu of flowers we request that a donation be made to the Shriner's Children Hospital or to the American Heart Association in memory of Harry Raby.

[charliew]

I'm sorry for your loss Jake and my prayers are with you. Be strong for those left behind. You will be numb for awhile but it will get better. Remember your Dad loved you and wouldn't want you to suffer too much and just try to do the best you can to take care of everything. I was lucky that my mom still was going good and was right in the middle of all the things that needed to be tended to. It's been 11 years since he went to a better place. He was 90. He spent several years in a rest home with dementia or alt. and the last year in a fetal position sleeping but I still remember the hunting and fishing trips we went on and all the other family outings we had. My mom spent a part of every day with my dad for 9 years in the resthome. He was a old athlete so his heart was very strong but his mind went way to soon.

I know it's easy for me to say but down the road you will realize that the way your dad went was one of the better ways to go. It's good you were closeby. I know he suffered over the years but he was still able to keep going and to give you support and advice.

It sounds like he was a very good man who always wanted the best for you and his other loved ones.

Something I do when something gets misplaced or is hard to diagnose is, I think to ask my dad where the item is or what the heck is wrong that this fix isn't easy. It really seems like he helps all the time.

God Speed Harry and hang in there Jake.

Charlie