Well, I’ve had computer problems the past few weeks, if you have been wondering where my column has been.

We woke up to clear skies Saturday morning. This was some week for weather, both in Fountain HiIls and Las Vegas.

Both areas had little rainfall in 2020. We went more than 250 days in a row without precipitation and the day the streak ended, McCarran International Airport only recorded .04 inches of rain while most of the rest of the city didn’t get a drop.

This past week, most areas of Vegas received a third to a half inch of precipitation. And it came in all forms: rain, hail, sleet and even snow. Monday, (the same day that Fountain Hills had snow) we woke up to find about an inch covering our back yard. Up in the Summerlin area of Vegas, about a 15-minute drive from where we live, they had three inches on the ground that morning. The weather has certainly been crazy!

I’m almost to the point of skipping reading Page 4A each week, more specifically, the obituaries section. Too many of my friends are among the people listed lately.

On Jan. 13, we lost Terry Merrell, a former board member and volunteer for both the Fountain Hills & Verde Valley Historical Society and the Sunset Kiwanis. He didn’t talk much at the meetings, unless he felt he had something worth saying to contribute to the discussion. And he would end his input with that big grin that would usually result in smiles from everyone around the table.

He was a “gentle giant” of a man. He was a standout athlete in high school, earning all-league honors in both basketball and football. He attended Ohio Wesleyan and Ohio State universities. He worked in construction most of his life. He retired as vice president of sales for Monks Construction, a heavy equipment firm that built highways and airport runways around the country. He was always among the first to volunteer when a special project or a fund-raiser would be planned. He was generally in the kitchen with Bruce Hansen for the Museum spaghetti dinner fund-raisers.

It was Terry and his buddy, Jack Bercel, who were responsible for relocating the old stone chimney from the area north of Shea Boulevard and south of the Adero Resort (formerly CopperWynd).

Believed to be the oldest structure in Fountain Hills, it was located by Historical Society Vice President Bonnie Kline during a hike. She felt it would make a good addition to the collection at the museum. Today, it is located on the patio of the River of Time Museum thanks to their efforts.

One last thing about Terry, it could be argued that he was the state’s biggest Ohio State football fan. Go Buckeyes. Win one for Terry!

Another friend of mine in the obituaries last week was Tom Mazzotta. He passed away on Dec. 10.

Tom also had Parkinson’s Disease, as do I, and we were both members of The Club men’s organization and the Parkinson’s Support Group.

Whenever I cooked, he would make himself available for setup of the tables.

He was also the coordinator for the local “Pennies for Parkinson’s” fund-raising campaign which was initiated by the local group and went nationwide.

There was another member of the local Parkinson’s Support Group that was among today’s obituaries. That is Niobe Borman, who also was a former board member of the Fountain Hills & Lower Verde Valley Historical Society. She and daughter Tina made all of the table centerpieces for each of the historical dinners at the Community Center.

Now, for some good news: My former ASU basketball buddy, Jon Klesner, retired from State Farm Insurance as of Jan. 1. We had season tickets for the Arizona State basketball games for more than 20 years.

Another piece of good news: My good buddy, Frank Kainrath, celebrated his 80th birthday on Jan. 20. Happy birthday, Frank! Keep working out daily on your rowing machine and you’ll make 90! Thanks for always being there during my fight with Parkinson’s.