I don't think I've really mentioned Bella's dad much in here, but below I am reprinting a tribute I left in the Guest Book for his obituary page at PE.com:
I met Chet in 2002. I came over as his daughter's friend. Christina wasn't home yet, so I sat in the kitchen with him. He started talking to me like he had known me for years. I could barely get a word in edgewise, and when I finally did I realized that I hadn't introduced myself. "I'm Greg, by the way," I managed. "Yeah," he replied. In his very next breath, he was back on yet another subject. It felt more like he was trying to catch up with an old friend than make small talk with the stranger that I was. I have never felt more welcome in anyone else's home. Chet did that.
Now, I am engaged to his daughter! When I asked him permission to marry Christina, he said, "She's the one that has to live with you." I thought that was the perfect tension-breaker, and we both chuckled. Then, kidding aside, he said yes. He offered advice from his own experience. And that was that. Yet again, he managed to put me at ease. It takes a sensitive, intuitive person to be able to do that.
I spent almost every Sunday morning before church sitting and chatting with Chet. He'd offer me coffee. "You'll have to warm it up," he'd explain. Man, he could brew a good cup of coffee. Even if it was a day or two old.
He is and always will be my role model for daily living. I admire him greatly. His life, though far too short for those he left behind, was a full and successful one.
I will miss him more than I can express.
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