Featured My Dad passed away: A Tribute (numismatic related)

fretboard · Oct 31, 2015

Daniel,
Sending my sympathies and prayers. Interesting tribute and great looking coins, each one of them holds memories for you and US History for us. Nice!

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GSDykes · Oct 31, 2015

Thank you Daniel for sharing this precious data, history, and amazing life of your father. My prayer is for continuing peace for you now and in the hereafter.

keemao · Nov 4, 2015

Great tribute. I enjoyed reading of your dad's life.

BadThad · Nov 4, 2015

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Dan.

RobsCoins · Nov 5, 2015

Sorry for your loss. It sounds like your father was a great guy who lead a very interesting life.

I lost my grandfather in january 2014, he was a great man and the person responsible for inspiring my ongoing love of numismatics many years ago. When he passed he left the coin collection that his father had started, and me and him had worked on completing for years, to me.

Despite the cost, it is something i love doing, it is truely a passion for me, as it was for him, and a great way of keeping a loved ones memory, and in that way, them, alive.

Good bless you sir. And may your father rest in peace.

Sallent · Nov 5, 2015

I'm sorry for your loss. As a space buff, I think your dad had a very interesting life. I wish I could have met all those astronauts.

Rushmore · Nov 5, 2015

Sorry about your father. That must have been one interesting trip in Germany 1938. My dad got me started in coins too, although inadvertently. He gave me some leftover change from a trip to Canada in 1985. I was nine at the time.

kaosleeroy108 · Nov 7, 2015

dcarr said: ↑

A day after the recent Denver coin show my Dad, Wilfred J Carr, passed away. It was not unexpected, although it seemed a little sudden at the end. He was 89. He had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma over 12 years ago. The average life expectancy for that is about 4 years. So he survived longer than expected. He had good mental function right up until the day before last, although his health and physical abilities had been declining significantly over the last several months.

My Dad was not one who would normally spend more than face value for a coin. But he had collected coins from circulation in the early 1960s and had a pile of blue Whitman folders. included with that were a few Morgan and Peace silver dollars that he received on his many assignments in Nevada. About 1970, as a pre-teen, I was interested in the old coins and my Dad encouraged the hobby, even going so far as to help me buy several coins over the years. So I credit him with where I am today.
My Grandfather on my Dad's side was quite an interesting character. My Grandfather was an educator and a diplomat. My Dad told a story about when my Grandfather took my Grandmother and my Dad on a "sight seeing" trip to Germany in late 1938. Later in 1966 my Grandfather was outed by the Washington Post as having worked with the CIA.

My Dad joined the US Navy and they paid for him to attend Princeton and obtain a degree in Geology. He graduated in 1946 and at that point the Navy didn't need him anymore since WW2 was over, so he was honorably discharged. What a great deal !

He went to work for the US Geological Survey and had a long and interesting career with them. One of his assignments of note was instructing astronauts about geology in preparation for Moon landings. In February 1965 there were three groups of astronauts that my Dad worked with at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). My Dad is not shown in this picture, but this is a typical gathering. Reclined in the back (black pant legs up in the air) is Buzz Aldrin. On the right in the front is Neil Armstrong. At the time (1965) it was of course not known that these would be the first two people to walk on the Moon.

This issue of the NTS News recorded the project. My Dad is shown on the last page with the map.

My Dad was able to collect signatures of one group of the Astronauts on an unusual post card featuring a mushroom cloud:

Tragically, four of these astronauts died not long after:

Donn Eisele: Command Module pilot for the first Apollo flight (Apollo 7).

Alan Bean: Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 12 (the third person to walk on the Moon); Commander for the Skylab 3 mission.

Charlie Bassett: Never flew in space; Died tragically in a training jet crash with Elliot See on 28 February 1966 (about a year after the NTS training).

Gene Cernan: Pilot for Gemini 9; Orbited the Moon as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 10; Commander of Apollo 17 - currently the last human to have walked on the Moon.

Clifton Curtis "CC" Williams: Never flew in space; Died tragically due to mechanical failure of his training jet on 05 October 1967.

Michael Collins: Pilot for Gemini 10; Command Module pilot for Apollo 11.
Walt Cunningham: Pilot for Apollo 7.

Elliot See: Never flew in space; Died tragically in a training jet crash with Charlie Bassett on 28 February 1966.

Roger B Chaffee: Died tragically during ground testing in the capsule of Apollo 1 on 27 January 1967.

Here is a photo of my Dad (pointing to the map). Another geologist is on the left. To the right of my Dad is Charlie Bassett and Walt Cunningham:

After the Astronaut training, my Dad went on to play a part in winning the "Cold War". His group studied the geology of potential underground nuclear testing sites. For a time he was stationed on Amchitka Island in the Alaskan Aleutians. One of the largest nuclear tests of all time was detonated under that island, not far from Russia. It is believed that someone made a serious mistake in not issuing radiation exposure badges for the workers there. Many people who worked there later developed Multiple Myeloma. Many years later the US Government offered a significant compensation payment to anyone who developed Multiple Myeloma and was able to show that they were on the island in 1970. One of the pieces of evidence we presented was this letter that my Dad wrote from Amchitka to my Grandfather in Tahiti ! This may be the only known surviving letter with an "Amchitka" postmark (that post office only operated for a short time during the testing). At the very least, this is probably the only letter ever mailed from the Aleutians to Tahiti:

One of my Dad's favorite hobbies was classic cars, especially GM models of the mid to late 1950s. That is where I get that from (although mine are generally GM "muscle" cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s).

I just spent many nostalgic hours going through things and coins I hadn't looked at in a long time. Here are some of the coins that I bought with the help of my Dad, or that I had picked out for him to buy. We generally had a somewhat limited budget, but we were able to pick up some nice things.

1938-D Indian Head nickel with nice pastel toning:

1939-D Jefferson nickel with even better pastel toning:

1897-S Morgan silver dollar:

Unusual 1881-O Morgan silver dollar with ultimate DMPL:

1921 Peace silver dollar with original ANACS photo certificate:

Key-date 1991 1/2-oz Gold Eagle that I told him to buy in 1992

1999 $50 1-oz Gold Eagle that I bought for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary in 1999. I made the text insert for the screw-together Capitol Plastics holder.

Scarce 1845 Seated Liberty silver dollar:

Nice 1908 Indian Head $10 gold purchased as an AU-55:

In lieu of flowers or specific donations or the like, we simply ask that everyone just bring back fond memories of their own departed family members.

Thanks for viewing this rather lengthy post.
Click to expand...

Your father left an impressionable legacy upon you and I'm sure everyone he met.. Love and condolences

DeodatusAlp2002 · Nov 11, 2015

My condolences.

DeodatusAlp2002 · Nov 11, 2015

And wow! Those coins are absolutely stunning!

Blissskr · Nov 12, 2015

Sorry for your loss @dcarr, and very interesting history and touching tribute to your father. I unfortunately have lost both my parents to cancer. My mother passed away when I was 11 which was tough as she was extremely young herself at only 36. More recently my father passed away in 2012 from lung cancer. It's very tough losing a loved one and losing one to a disease like cancer in any form makes it even tougher due to the progression of the disease.

My father is actually the reason I'm on the forums today. He used to take me metal detecting when I was a young boy which I always loved. After he was diagnosed we spent a great deal of time together and he really rekindled my interest in numismatics. I really remember him though for his love of and his patience in teaching me how to fish. Which started when he'd bring me with him when I was 2 years old.

I still haven't topped his biggest codfish, as he was a master at jig fishing and with current regulations I doubt I ever will. Though I'm glad that a few months before he was diagnosed with cancer he was with me fishing when I caught the biggest cod I've ever caught. I'll never forget that day I basically went from being a grown man to a kid again. I was so nervous I forgot everything he'd ever taught me about fishing and spent the whole time I brought the fish in asking him if I was doing it right. My father was also a Will, as am I myself. Although he never got to actually meet my own son William the 4th, I know he'd be proud and I look forward to teaching my son everything he taught me.

Thank you again for sharing as it's brought up some great memories of my own lost family members and that's truly how they continue to live on through us.

Picture below of my father with his biggest cod and then myself below that with my biggest one.
.

michael gregoric · Nov 18, 2015

Sorry for your loss Daniel .
It sounded like your dad was a pioneer in the space industry !
Did he suffer any negative effects from the nuclear explosions, just like a lot of our veterans that were in and around that area during the testing ?

BATTERup646 · Nov 18, 2015

Mr. Carr, we are all very sorry. At least he saw a show before he passed.
You have my prayers.
Stay strong,

-John

dcarr · Nov 20, 2015

Thanks to everyone for your nice posts and condolences.

Blissskr: Nice tribute to your Dad. I'm glad you have those memories.
michael gregoric: It is believed that my Dad developed multiple myeloma many years after radiation exposure while nuclear testing was being performed on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians. He was never present during any above-ground testing. But he did visit various sites before and after underground nuclear detonations.

Onofrio Bacigalupo · Nov 20, 2015

dcarr said: ↑

A day after the recent Denver coin show my Dad, Wilfred J Carr, passed away. It was not unexpected, although it seemed a little sudden at the end. He was 89. He had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma over 12 years ago. The average life expectancy for that is about 4 years. So he survived longer than expected. He had good mental function right up until the day before last, although his health and physical abilities had been declining significantly over the last several months.

My Dad was not one who would normally spend more than face value for a coin. But he had collected coins from circulation in the early 1960s and had a pile of blue Whitman folders. included with that were a few Morgan and Peace silver dollars that he received on his many assignments in Nevada. About 1970, as a pre-teen, I was interested in the old coins and my Dad encouraged the hobby, even going so far as to help me buy several coins over the years. So I credit him with where I am today.
My Grandfather on my Dad's side was quite an interesting character. My Grandfather was an educator and a diplomat. My Dad told a story about when my Grandfather took my Grandmother and my Dad on a "sight seeing" trip to Germany in late 1938. Later in 1966 my Grandfather was outed by the Washington Post as having worked with the CIA.

My Dad joined the US Navy and they paid for him to attend Princeton and obtain a degree in Geology. He graduated in 1946 and at that point the Navy didn't need him anymore since WW2 was over, so he was honorably discharged. What a great deal !

He went to work for the US Geological Survey and had a long and interesting career with them. One of his assignments of note was instructing astronauts about geology in preparation for Moon landings. In February 1965 there were three groups of astronauts that my Dad worked with at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). My Dad is not shown in this picture, but this is a typical gathering. Reclined in the back (black pant legs up in the air) is Buzz Aldrin. On the right in the front is Neil Armstrong. At the time (1965) it was of course not known that these would be the first two people to walk on the Moon.

This issue of the NTS News recorded the project. My Dad is shown on the last page with the map.

My Dad was able to collect signatures of one group of the Astronauts on an unusual post card featuring a mushroom cloud:

Tragically, four of these astronauts died not long after:

Donn Eisele: Command Module pilot for the first Apollo flight (Apollo 7).

Alan Bean: Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 12 (the third person to walk on the Moon); Commander for the Skylab 3 mission.

Charlie Bassett: Never flew in space; Died tragically in a training jet crash with Elliot See on 28 February 1966 (about a year after the NTS training).

Gene Cernan: Pilot for Gemini 9; Orbited the Moon as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 10; Commander of Apollo 17 - currently the last human to have walked on the Moon.

Clifton Curtis "CC" Williams: Never flew in space; Died tragically due to mechanical failure of his training jet on 05 October 1967.

Michael Collins: Pilot for Gemini 10; Command Module pilot for Apollo 11.
Walt Cunningham: Pilot for Apollo 7.

Elliot See: Never flew in space; Died tragically in a training jet crash with Charlie Bassett on 28 February 1966.

Roger B Chaffee: Died tragically during ground testing in the capsule of Apollo 1 on 27 January 1967.

Here is a photo of my Dad (pointing to the map). Another geologist is on the left. To the right of my Dad is Charlie Bassett and Walt Cunningham:

After the Astronaut training, my Dad went on to play a part in winning the "Cold War". His group studied the geology of potential underground nuclear testing sites. For a time he was stationed on Amchitka Island in the Alaskan Aleutians. One of the largest nuclear tests of all time was detonated under that island, not far from Russia. It is believed that someone made a serious mistake in not issuing radiation exposure badges for the workers there. Many people who worked there later developed Multiple Myeloma. Many years later the US Government offered a significant compensation payment to anyone who developed Multiple Myeloma and was able to show that they were on the island in 1970. One of the pieces of evidence we presented was this letter that my Dad wrote from Amchitka to my Grandfather in Tahiti ! This may be the only known surviving letter with an "Amchitka" postmark (that post office only operated for a short time during the testing). At the very least, this is probably the only letter ever mailed from the Aleutians to Tahiti:

One of my Dad's favorite hobbies was classic cars, especially GM models of the mid to late 1950s. That is where I get that from (although mine are generally GM "muscle" cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s).

I just spent many nostalgic hours going through things and coins I hadn't looked at in a long time. Here are some of the coins that I bought with the help of my Dad, or that I had picked out for him to buy. We generally had a somewhat limited budget, but we were able to pick up some nice things.

1938-D Indian Head nickel with nice pastel toning:

1939-D Jefferson nickel with even better pastel toning:

1897-S Morgan silver dollar:

Unusual 1881-O Morgan silver dollar with ultimate DMPL:

1921 Peace silver dollar with original ANACS photo certificate:

Key-date 1991 1/2-oz Gold Eagle that I told him to buy in 1992

1999 $50 1-oz Gold Eagle that I bought for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary in 1999. I made the text insert for the screw-together Capitol Plastics holder.

Scarce 1845 Seated Liberty silver dollar:

Nice 1908 Indian Head $10 gold purchased as an AU-55:

In lieu of flowers or specific donations or the like, we simply ask that everyone just bring back fond memories of their own departed family members.

Thanks for viewing this rather lengthy post.
Click to expand...

Onofrio Bacigalupo · Nov 20, 2015

Thank you for sharing. Your Dad accomplished a lot. I'm glad that he encouraged the hobby.

Cucumbor · Nov 26, 2015

A very moving thread, thank you for the sharing and all my sympathy to all of those he cared for
Q

monetarium · Nov 29, 2015

My deepest sympathy to you and your family, Daniel.
You must be very proud of your father. What a fruitful life!

Isaac Weitkuhn · Dec 7, 2015

R.I.P Thank you for serving america wilfred j. carr

kaosleeroy108 · Dec 17, 2015

i think what is prominent for most numismatist , in modern time is to donate a portion of there collection to a museum or make a permanent artistic exposition at a local library

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Featured My Dad passed away: A Tribute (numismatic related)

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RobsCoins coin collecting IS the true hobby of kings.

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Featured My Dad passed away: A Tribute (numismatic related)

fretboard Defender of Old Coinage!

Guest User Guest

GSDykes Well-Known Member

keemao Well-Known Member

BadThad Calibrated for Lincolns

RobsCoins coin collecting IS the true hobby of kings.

Sallent Live long and prosper

Rushmore Coin Addict

kaosleeroy108 The Mahayana Tea Shop & hobby center

DeodatusAlp2002 Lowball glory!

DeodatusAlp2002 Lowball glory!

Blissskr Well-Known Member

michael gregoric Member

BATTERup646 Active Member

dcarr Mint-Master

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