My Parents
In honor of my mother and father who have passed on a while back I write this tribute of honor and love. My mom was born in Bridgeport, Ct in 1918 as Emma Viola Scarff and my dad was born in Woodhaven, Queens, NY as Edward James Luerssen. They were both born of Irish/German parents which carried down to me in my dna. By blood I'm 51% Irish and 49% German/ Nortic. They were both raised in NYC during during the 20s & 30s. My father's family suffered much during the depression with his mom dying in 1927 when he was 8. He had 3 brothers who were 12, 8 (twin) & 4 and a father out of work or searching for it. For a time they each lived with different aunts until 1930 when their dad moved them to Rocky Point, NY where he started a summer resort business(Luerssen's Pavilion) 60 miles out of the city on the north shore of Long Island. My mom enjoyed a better city life as her father had a good steady job as a printer with the NY Daily Mirror. They could afford a summer cottage in Rocky Point where she met my father at the beach in the 30s during their teens and married in 1941. I thank them for providing a wonderful childhood and being raised on a beach. This is part of my story.
I'm a true Islander born on Manhattan (1949) in "hell's kitchen" at the corner of 9th Ave. and 51st St. in St. Clare's Hospital. In New York slang I'm a true "Westie!" I'm also a 5th generation New Yorker with Irish-German roots who was raised on Long Island during the wild fifties and sixties. I had a great childhood living in Rocky Point on the north shore with the beach and sound as my backyard. A life full of pets, sports, fishing, swimming, boating, water skiing, sailing and surfing kept me happy and healthy in my youth. I studied engineering and philosophy in college which set the stage for my life. I've enjoyed over 30 years of marriage and raised 6 children thanks to my beloved wife Beth. I have spent 15 years working for major engineering firms building Nuclear Power Plants up and down the northeast coast of the USA. I spent another 15 years working for a Public Utility in New York as a public works coordinator. Now I am semi-retired living in the west (SLC) working in security supervision and sharing my thoughts, hopes and beliefs on the social networks. I enjoy reading, writing and sharing my witness of Jesus Christ with all at home, at church, at work and in all the world by precept and example to the best of all my abilities. It is my hope and desire that all might come to the knowledge of the truth and the joy of the Lord!