Where to begin.......First off, I am glad to see that Dale was added to our class site. Unfortunately, he was the first to go. When I first moved to Florida, I lived about a 1/2 mile from Dale and his family. His house was the neighborhood hangout, as they had a basement (rare in Florida) and we would sit down there and listen to music a lot, amongst other things, with his brother Tommy and sister Sandra. His dad was a retired US ARMY Military Police Officer as I recall (which I later went on to be) and he always made us take our hats off when we came into the house. It's hard to believe that it has been 30 years + since his passing. My brother (also named Dell, but spelled different) had gotten on the motorcycle with him that day and they headed off to the Lake Estates. It was there that my brother decided to stay, and Dale's brother-in-law (Sandra's husband) got on the motorcycle for a ride back home. Unfortunately, they never made it. I don't know if many are aware, but Tommy, Martin Kight, Kevin and Tracy Snyder, as I recall, and maybe a few others, actually witnessed the crash as the pick-up truck turned left in front of Dales bike. Me and Brian Snyder heard the crash and ran there to see what had happened. I remember I had the 45 single of Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" in my hand. At the time, I thought it was still my brother on the back of the motorcycle with Dale, and I got real mad and broke the record. It was a memory I will never forget, but, fortunately, I have many, many happy memories of Dale from the 2 years that I knew him. I still occasionally visit his grave when I pass through Interlachen May his soul rest in peace.
Rick Stevenson
Where to begin.......First off, I am glad to see that Dale was added to our class site. Unfortunately, he was the first to go. When I first moved to Florida, I lived about a 1/2 mile from Dale and his family. His house was the neighborhood hangout, as they had a basement (rare in Florida) and we would sit down there and listen to music a lot, amongst other things, with his brother Tommy and sister Sandra. His dad was a retired US ARMY Military Police Officer as I recall (which I later went on to be) and he always made us take our hats off when we came into the house. It's hard to believe that it has been 30 years + since his passing. My brother (also named Dell, but spelled different) had gotten on the motorcycle with him that day and they headed off to the Lake Estates. It was there that my brother decided to stay, and Dale's brother-in-law (Sandra's husband) got on the motorcycle for a ride back home. Unfortunately, they never made it. I don't know if many are aware, but Tommy, Martin Kight, Kevin and Tracy Snyder, as I recall, and maybe a few others, actually witnessed the crash as the pick-up truck turned left in front of Dales bike. Me and Brian Snyder heard the crash and ran there to see what had happened. I remember I had the 45 single of Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" in my hand. At the time, I thought it was still my brother on the back of the motorcycle with Dale, and I got real mad and broke the record. It was a memory I will never forget, but, fortunately, I have many, many happy memories of Dale from the 2 years that I knew him. I still occasionally visit his grave when I pass through Interlachen May his soul rest in peace.