Lester H Albin

Loving comments from Gary White (Les' son-in-law)      Les Albin passed away early today. He was 94. He was a lot tougher than any of us thought possible. When he first moved into his care facility over 6 years ago, we gave him a few months…maybe. He recovered almost entirely from his stroke, except for his sense of balance. He was never able to continue the long walks he used to take every day. At first, he pretty much got around by using a walker. When he kept falling down we had no choice but to take away the walker and introduce him to a wheel chair. He insisted that he never really “fell down”, but wanted to look for something on the floor. He accepted the chair but always wanted to know where his walker was….that’s just the kind of guy that he was.                When he turned 94, a couple of weeks ago, he pretty much decided that he was going to leave us. There was a definite change in his outlook. He developed pneumonia and after about a week, he let go.                Les was an electrical engineer for Otis Elevator for about 30 years. He was forced to retire when the Otis plant of Cucamonga, CA closed. Les was a different sort of person. He was very independent and never accepted the fact that he couldn’t live life on his own, right up to the end.                We had many interesting discussions about life in general. He worked for Bethlehem Steel during most of WWII. He said that he tried to enlist four different times, but they wouldn’t take him because he was too skinny. Finally they accepted him into the Army near the end of the war. He was a fast typist and he was assigned to a supply depot. I found his old uniform when I was cleaning out his home. I showed it to him, and it brought back a lot of memories. We had many good talks about his youth and what it was like growing up in Wenatchee, WA. We talked about his working on the Grand Coulee Dam. We also discussed photography, cars, welding, and a wide range of topics. I always considered him to be one of the most intelligent and fascinating people I have ever met. He will be missed.                What a wonderful tribute to a wonderful man. Thank you Gary, for the beautiful words. I can’t add much other than I loved you very, very much Dad. You were loved by many, many people and I hope that you know that. On to your next journey, with all you your wonderful family and friends that were there to greet you when you left this Earth.           Dad was born on December 4, 1919 and went to greet my Mom (Zelda Albin) and my brother, Rick on the morning of December 17, 2013. All of his non-human friends with their tails wagging, hooves galloping, and of course, Shadow up on the roof of his little goat house anxiously awaiting his arrival.           Love YOU, Dad, more than you will ever know… remember that “YOU ARE THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP.” Sail on with Peace and Love in your heart.  I’m so honored to be your daughter. Forever Hugs, Linda (or "Windy" as you used to call me because I never seemed to stop talking as a little girl…as you know, not much changed when I grew up!!!)