My dad was born on August 31st, 1947 in Bryan, Texas to Herman Blubaugh and Lucile Cassens. He was the second of what would be eight surviving children in the family, with six sisters—Mary, Virginia (Ginger), Patricia (Woody), Barbara, Victoria, and Theresa—and one brother, Steven. Another brother, Joseph, had been born before the others but lived only a few days due to a birth defect. In 1949 the family relocated to North Canton, Ohio to reunite with my grandfather’s extended family, then eventually settled in Cleveland Heights in 1955. As a young boy Dad attended St. Ann school (now Communion of Saints School) then as a teenager went to St. Ignatius High School. 

Aside from those early years in Texas and his time in the Army, Dad lived in Ohio for his entire life, mostly in the Cleveland area. But despite it being where he grew up, I felt that he treated Cleveland as if he had chosen it, and wouldn’t have it any other way. He was a champion of whatever part of town he happened to be living in, always making a point to know his neighbors and understand what was happening in the city around him. Even when he and Christina moved to the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood—a rough part of town dotted with abandoned homes—he was adamant that all the area needed was a little love, and with his wife’s help he worked diligently to improve their little corner of the world. It’s one of the things I admire most about him.

While studying at Notre Dame my dad was accepted to the university’s first study abroad program in Innsbruck, Austria. He departed for Europe in August of 1966 on the SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever built. Students in the Innsbruck program were housed in the Schloss Klessheim, a baroque palace West of Salzburg. During his time in the program he made friends that he remained close with for his entire life, including Andy Fedynski and Rich Smith.

The captions written on the back of his photographs from this trip reveal a young man hungry to soak up as much as he can about the world; his observations are meticulous and awed, as if he wanted to make sure that no detail was lost. I can see how this trip awakened his love of travel and exploration, something he carried with him his whole life and certainly passed on to me.