Remembering #3

Patty Blackburn made this lovely altar for her father, Tony Chavez. Just before the Dia de los Muertos event, Patty told us about her dad and why she placed the particular items on the altar. Of special interest to me was the shell casing that was given to Patty from the 21 gun salute at her dad's funeral, the miniature American folded flag, and the Purple Heart she made to represent the real Purple Heart medal that her dad was awarded. The skull to the right of the altar is covered in copies of Tony's obituary. Patty took extraordinary pains to make sure the altar represented her love for her father. This is what Patty wrote about her dad ~

Meliton A. Chavez aka Tony
1929-2007
My Dad was born in Puerto de Luna, New Mexico. He joined the army at 17 and served in WII & Korea & his life was forever changed. He was quiet and kept to himself. My parents moved to California, raised us then eventually moved back home to New Mexico. We really became close when I had my kids, we would talk on the phone often. He loved cars, collecting baseball caps, loved sports and was an avid Lakers fan! Dad was a life long smoker and eventually lost his battle with lung cancer on May 7, 2007.