Lake Aquabi/Grandad's Bluff

Our creative children have decided that their father's ashes need to be distributed over many places. He loved to travel and look for adventures around every turn. I am not surprised that they have come up with this way to memoralize their father. We scattered ashes at Granddad's Bluff in LaCrosse, Wisconsin last weekend while visiting Katie and Drew and Fiona. It was a place we visited often after the kids moved there in 1999. It is a bluff that overlooks the entire Missisippi river bend at LaCrosse---you can see for miles in all directions. The day Fiona was born we headed up there mid morning---Kent wanted to spend part of his first day as a grandfather on Granddad's bluff!
Last Saturday, we gathered the family and some dear friends for a picnic at Lake Aquabi in Indianola as a send-off for Rachel before she left for her year as a Rotary Exchange student to Argentina. Mark and Rod launched Kent's canoe and took Rachel out to the center of the lake where she scattered the next group of ashes. His brother Jerry, and nephew Jeff took another canoe and accompanied them. It was just at dusk, which my friend Pam pointed out was the beginning of Passover. It was another beautiful tribute to Kent and the difference he has made in so many lives. He loved to spend time at Aquabi, many nice weekends would find us out out there hiking, or launching the canoe.
We will be heading to Colorado in early June to distribute more of his ashes in the Colorado Rockies. Rebecca will be taking a group of family members on a white water raft trip down the Arkansas to scatter more of his ashes. Drew and Katie have been planning a family trip for the Britten's to Ireland in June of 2006 so we will save some to take to his homeland. They have plans to trek to the Boundary water canoe area---a favorite place for Kent to spend time with his kids, nephews and brothers. The list will continue . . . . .

Go M.A.D. DAD!!!

Kent never let his kids leave the house in the a.m. without calling out go M.A.D. ! Its an acronym for Go Make A Difference in the world! His legacy continues through so many people remembering him and the difference he made every day of his life. Last night Rachel and I met with the Relay for Life committee to purchase the first luminary for this summers Relay for Life cancer memory walk. They also told us that they are naming this summers Relay , the Kent R. Britten Relay for LIFE. It will be held on June 11 on the square in Indianola. I have been invited to join the bank team, named "Brittens banking buddies" They are forming the team and ordering , of course, bright green t-shirts with Go MAD on them. What an honor . . . . he is still making a difference. All those years of sending the kids out the door with go MAD, came back to him. Every letter or email they sent their dad ended with Go MAD, DAD! Rebecca had a baseball cap made for him on her trip to Nepal with those words---always one of his favorite hats. I think she is wearing it as a white water raft guide in Arizona this week! They have ALL fulfilled their fathers dream of making a difference in the world.

Leadership Award

The Warren County Leadership Institute has honored Kent by renaming their annual leadership award the Kent Britten Leadership award. Rachel and I attended the banquet last Thursday and were presented with a plaque honoring his committment to effective leadership. Kent was an alumni of the class in 99-00 and had served on the board in recent years. The plaque reads:

Warren County Leadership Institute is proud to recognize Kent Britten who exemplified the characteristics of leadership that this organization strives to build and support. Kent instilled a sense of dedication, commitment, devotion and passion. He was a positive example for all of us. He taught us to make a difference. For this we are forever grateful. Presented to the Kent Britten Family, April 14.2005. Thank you for sharing this wonderful man with us.

Rachel and I were asked to say a few words on his behalf. We ended with the statement that it was no mere coincidence that God placed us in a community the last 6 years that is nurturing and so supportive. We are so blessed by all the kindnesses.

This week the Relay for Life committee has asked Rachel and I to attend their meeting and buy the first luminary for the Cancer Memory Walk this summer in memory of Kent for a feature in the local newspaper. His legacy will continue to be remembered.

We went on a hike at Hixon Forest this week to give the new backpack a try that Mom and Dad purchased for thier granddaughter. Katie snapped a picture and I was struck with how much it looked like one of the slides I had just seen of Dad. I put the two pictures together so you see the similarity. For clarification, the baby on Dad's back is Rachel. You can click on the picture for a larger view. Baby backpacks sure were a lot simpler back then.

I have been hiking or camping with my family so many times that I lost count years ago. Dad was always in the lead. He and Mom would take turns cooking meals on the big green camp stove while my sisters and I would help where we could, but mostly just played. What a blessing those times were as our character was being formed. How rare that is today when many parents would rather plop thier kids down in front of the TV and pop in a Barney video or the latest PS2 game. I'm sure living so close to the Rocky Mounatains may have helped a little but even today, there isn't anywhere where you can't find a little peice of wilderness with only a tank of gas and a decent map. I strive to bring my children into the great outdoors as often as my parents did, and they will be better for it.

Kent "isms"

Kent was famous for his many quotes. We began making a list while sitting at his bedside in the hospital. I will list some of our favorites and I am sure friends and family will be able to post more . . . .

"A place for everything and everything in its place"
"No job is done until the tools are put away"
"You don't get in trouble for accidents"
Dad , do you have chapstick? He always replied, "Does the sun rise in the east?"
The most often quoted, Go M.A..D! (go make a difference)
Its a BEAUTIFUL day in America where the LIGHT of freedom
shines in the EYES of the people!
Good morning, SUNSHINE!
"Good morning, good morning, if its as nice a morning tomorrow morning as it is this morning, it will be a nice morning tomorrow morning!" borrowed from my grandfather---he spent many hours perfecting it and then taught it to family members . . .
Is there anyone among you with the sporting blood to be a volunteer?
(borrowed from his brother, Jerry)
To kids when inspecting their room cleaning efforts, . . .
"Its a good start!"
When we were out shopping, "Is this a need or a want?"
I always hated that one :)
Discussing tithing, "Do you want to be blessed on the net or the gross?"

Please feel free to add to this list . . . .

Today he would be 55 . . . .

Kent was looking forward to this birthday for months, he could finally have a senior discount! We will spend the day celebrating his amazing life, and go out to dinner tonite with a gift certificate he left for us. One of the fondest birthday memories was one of the years that we were living in Colorado--- I packed for us, parked the car in his office parking lot and "kidnapped" him for a get away weekend to Denver, just the two of us. It had to have been the year Barb and kids were living with us, because I don't know any other way possible to escape 7 children. He loved being surprised. On his 35th birthday---a friend and I whose husbands' birthday was the same day--planned an elaborate dinner party at another friends house, and managed to completely surprise our husbands. His 40th, we were in Maquoketa and with the house full of friends and family--we featured skits (Andrew behind him, using his arms to shave his dad was one!) While sorting through some boxes I found the pictures of him that I had friends caption during the party--what fun---they were hilarious. Maybe Drew can help me post some of them to this site. His 50th we were in Indianola, and I had a big cake delivered to the bank, decorated like a fifty dollar bill and we filled his office with black balloons and crepe paper--he was surprised.
Birthdays have always been a huge deal for the Britten family--I hope they are a chance for each of you to celebrate life. His favorite was German Sweet Chocolate cake and his mom or I or Aunt Dee made it EVERY year for him.

The pulled "Fruit Loop"

Most of us who have known Kent for any length of time have heard this story before. However, while going through a box of memoirs last night, I found an English paper from his Junior year in high school which tells the story in his own words.

Unjustly Punished

by Kent Britten

April 24, 1967

Once in the course of human events a trifle incident resulted in drastic, unjust punishment. The way I recall it, it occurred in third period study hall on a bright, cheery Tuesday morning. The bell had just rung, and I had deposited myself in a seat toward the rear of the room. The student in the seat behind me thought he was pretty smart and pulled the "fruit loop" off my shirt. Acting on impulse, I immediately swung around and hit him on the head. The next thing I knew, the young, gentlemean teacher with his big gruff voice was telling both of us that he would see us in the hall. After entering the hall, the young, gentleman teacher escorted us to the office of Mr. Zee. Arriving at the office, Mr. Zee told us that we must spend the remainder of the day in the office and miss the rest of our classes.

For no more than we did, I feel that we were very unjustly punished. I believe the words that would best describe it are that the young, gentleman teacher and Mr. Zee "made a mountain out of a molehill."

Teachers Notes: It may seem this way to you, Kent, and perhaps you weren't guilty, but put yourself in the place of the teacher trying to keep a study hall quiet. Perhaps the incident was minor, but oftentimes minor incidents grow into major incidents if they aren't checked. Soemtimes too, we all are unjustly punished or too severely punished.

The well-dressed man. Kent was fastidious about how he looked. A peek into his closet would show you suits lined up---the one on the end was worn for a day, carefully hung on the hangar and placed at the end of the day at the other end of the rack--the "rotation"-- that way every suit was worn the same amount. He had over 100 ties to choose from, but nearly every a.m. I was consulted about the color. He was a regular at the drycleaner, 5 shirts a week, when one displeased him with to many wrinkles, he switched to other cleaner in town, until they displeased him and then he switched back:) The socks . . . amazing that in nearly 33 years of marriage, I NEVER picked up a sock, or underwear from the floor. A place for everything and everything in its place was his motto--I know I was a blessed woman, indeed! Back to socks, the first year he was a banker, he discovered that I was matching up a 6 week old navy blue sock with a 6 month old navy blue sock, So . . . . he began safety pinning them together at the heel when he took them off at night, they went through the washer, dryer and into the basket together and back into his drawers, sorted by color of course, to be worn again. He told me he thought he had saved both of us HOURS of work not matching socks all those years--you might want to try this idea--I think he's right!
This photo was taken at Puttin on the Ritz in Des Moines on Feb. 12. by Kent using the timer on the digital camera in our hotel room. He always made sure that we made this annual benefit for the Balloon Classic a getaway weekend, and we had a wonderful time this year, just like the past 5 years. I am so going to miss the fun times . . . . . with my amazing, handsome husband.