One last ride...

September 2nd, 2013...

My dad's birthday. He would've been 61. For many years he went on a motorcycle run with a group of his friends on Labor Day. This year it happened to be the same day. They wanted to do it in his memory so I strapped his urn (that his good friend, Donnie, made) to the back of his Harley and took him for one last ride. We met at Donnie's place. The 'Garage Boys' hung out there every Friday night. Don drove my dad's homemade V8 motorcycle. It's a beast and not very comfortable to ride but he knew my dad was so proud of that bike so he was honored to do it! It was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed spending time with his friends and hearing stories from the good-ole-days with Frank. The rest of the family followed us in vehicles so we had a pretty big group.

Headed towards the Red Rock Dells near Comfrey...

The whole group

 

Donnie on the V8

Spending Time with Dad / Grandpa Frank

 We had a trail camera set up at our dad's place since he was up at the VA Hospital for a while. Most of the pictures were of one of us stopping in to check on things but it also captured the times that we were able to get him out of the nursing home for a few hours after he was moved back to New Ulm for hospice care. He really enjoyed those outings and it was nice to have that time with him.

I don't know what it is about this picture but I really like it. I drove Dad's Harley over since it was such a nice day. Krystal had her cute baby bump. Joe was probably BS-ing with Keith cuz he's got that big grin on his face. Good memory! :-)

Dad's nephew, Larry, from Iowa came to visit on one of the outings. It was so nice that he was able to visit and he even brought a "toy" that he thought Dad would enjoy... a tennis ball gun! The guys and Jared thoroughly enjoying playing with it. Dad was in tough shape but I know he got a kick out of it.

Caught by the trail cam... love the mischievous smile!

Filling it with aerosol hairspray (propellant). 
Keith is 6'1" and Larry makes him look short!

Jared was ready to catch the tennis ball!

Grandma Lappe, Lyndsey, Krystal, Daryl holding Morgan

Larry wanted a picture of Dad and the V8 motorcycle Dad built.

I think I was taking a video of Dad shooting the tennis ball gun since Morgan and Jared were covering their ears. ;-)

August 10th...

Keith and Joe tried to soak up as much information about Dad's equipment that they could. If you knew my dad, he was quite the fix-it/handyman and he had many tricks to getting things to run. One of his notes included using a nail to lift some engine component if it got stuck. Ha! We've had quite a few chuckles over Dad's "thriftiness". I remember sitting on his Harley in the shed trying to get it started and finally had to call him cuz I couldn't even find the key! He talked me through the steps to getting it to start as if he was standing right next to me... not sitting in a hospital bed 100 miles away. It fired up and I had to call him back cuz it was so loud... and sounded so good! Oh, and the key... it's under the right butt cheek. Ha!

Keith learning how to operate the boom trailer.

Then everyone wanted a ride! Jared had to go first, of course.

Joe with Ashlyn and Kaelyn

Me and my girls

Dad

It's crazy how much I think about him every day.

My dad's nephew, Larry Lappe, from Iowa is quite a talented photo editor. He took this picture at an auction that my dad was at. It was Larry's dad's rare 1947 Harley that they were going to sell at the auction. Dad was going through his first first battle with cancer and had lost his hair. Strange to see him without his signature mustache. What a great picture. My dad really liked it too. We had it on display in his room at Oak Hills during his last days. 

Frank Arnold Lappe Obituary

Frank Lappe, 60, of New Ulm passed away after a 7 year battle with cancer on Saturday, August 17, 2013 at the Oak Hills Living Center in New Ulm. 

Funeral service will be 11 am Saturday, August 24 at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home NORTH CHAPEL in New Ulm with Monsignor John A. Richter officiating. Visitation will be 4-7 pm Friday and 7:30-11 am Saturday at the funeral home. Full military honors will be conducted at the funeral home by the New Ulm Area Comrades of Valor Honor Guard.

Frank is survived by his mother, Bernita Lappe of New Ulm; daughters and sons-in-law, Lyndsey and Keith Beranek of rural Gibbon, Krystal and Joe Loula of rural St. Peter; grandchildren, Jared, Chloe and Morgan Beranek, Ashlyn, Kaelyn and Claire Loula; sisters and brother-in-law, Mary Lappe of New Ulm, Lois and Daryl Helget of New Ulm; and niece, Holly Helget of Des Moines, Iowa. He was preceded in death by his sister, Sharon Kay; and his father, Harold.

Frank Arnold Lappe was born September 2, 1952 in Carroll, Iowa to Harold and Bernita (Thobe) Lappe. He was proudly named after his grandfathers at the flip of a coin: maternal grandfather, Frank, and paternal grandfather, Arnold. He graduated from New Ulm High School with the class of 1970. After high school, Frank joined the U.S. Army and served for two years as a Military Policeman. After his time in the military, he returned to the family business, Lappe Tree Service, where he worked full time. He continued working as often as he was able to throughout his illness. Frank enjoyed building and riding motorcycles, raising exotic animals, restoring classic cars, woodworking, spending his Friday nights with the Garage Boys, visiting the Red Rock Dells and spending time with his family. He was a member of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.