Dale R. Lonnroth Sr.

OMG, I just today confirmed that Dale is gone. Our last communication was via email on October 2. You see, Dale was my customer from 2003 to when he shut down his X-Height and other biz. I am the owner of Christine's Graphic Supplies. Dale was a very special guy, a complicated fellow and man after my own heart because of it. Once, over the course of our business relationship, he got so pissed at me that he fired me. Then we made up and he stayed loyal to me as a supplier over the course of the rest of his business. I had been in touch with him since the health problems of his wife, and contacted him regularly to give him emotional support. Then he quit responding. Finally today I decided to do a Google search, and that's how I found out he's gone on to his next adventure. To his family and those who love him: I know you don't know me, but I want you to know that Dale was one of the most interesting and admired people I've known in my life. Bless you all, and my sympathies for your loss. But also, my joy that you had such a wonderful person in your life.

I’m in Florida until April/May. Perhaps we can get together at MaryAnn’s. I’ve got a ton of stories to share. Pelenh49@gmail

Over the course of the winter I have a pretty heavy load to deal with, however, if anybody from my Pops' past would like to meet up for a cup of coffee or something, my email address is thefountainhead@comcast.net (No pressure to anybody...and certainly no hard feelings if the invitation is ignored). I am proud to say I am absolutely NOT available on any other social media. I'm old school.

Thank You Ed. I remember you as well. I used to absolutely love the rare visit to the station. All the way up that hill. And, yes, I completely grew up and, um, semi-matured. I learned a lot of hard lessons and I'm a better man for it. I'm still a goofball at heart. My kids love the stories...the shock and awe...I've held nothing back from them. They throw it back at me at every opportunity that they get "caught." Be well, buddy.

To DJ, Thanks for the kind words. You and your dad were great speedway companions and I often reminisce about them. I could fill a volume with stories about your dad and I. A great guy!!! He will always be in my thoughts!!

My heart is completely broken. First Sharon and then my brother Dale! Double whammy! Dale and I had a very special relationship. We were opposites in so many ways but we also had a lot in common. We grew very close and loved each other greatly. We did so many things together over the years from astronomy to cruising. We had many adventures. Whenever he visited me in TN we would get in the car and drive all day long down country roads and up mountains. No map, no GPS - just going where the roads took us. It was a great stress reliever for both of us. Believe it or not, we also shared a love of science, especially physics. He first got me interested by giving me Richard Feynman's book "Surely You're Joking, My. Feynman" to read. We loved it and proceeded to read and discuss everything Feynman wrote, including his CalTech lectures. That really started me on my career in chemistry. Dale was proud of that! He was my biggest cheerleader. Dale had a genius IQ (153) and we loved to challenge each other. He would get so mad when I one-upped him! He always wanted to be right. We also shared a love of old radio programs. He had a huge collection and copied every one of them for me to listen to. We would listen to them when we traveled the road. His greatest love was his family. He loved his wife, his son, his sister (me) but most of all he loved his two granddaughters! He was an eccentric grandfather who treated the girls to all kinds of wonderful weirdness - a visit with Grandpa was always an adventure! He made sure they built wonderful memories together. I will miss Dale so much. I cannot believe he is gone! It is so hard! Rest in peace, Dale - I will see you on the other side!

Shortly after my father passed away, Dale and I were teamed up for news and sports at WSMN. He helped me through the tough days. On a tip and hunch, Dale broke a story about some members of the Board of Aldermen who were getting their driveways plowed by DPW. City Hall wasn't too happy! Our best day was the Reagan-Bush debate at NHS. Along with Elyse Klysa, we spent the day at the school, learning that Bob Dole was trying to rent space for an alternative debate with the candidates not allowed on stage for the famous, "I'm paying for this microphone Mr. Green" To think we were all there part of history. When we got back to the station, Al Rock called and we were all nervous, Dale took the call, and relayed to us Al was happy with the job we did and bonuses would be coming! A great night, but then again there were many. Dale knew how to keep it lite and when to be serious. When he moved on to his new venture things were never the same in the newsroom. DJ he loved you more than you know. And while you may have upset him every now and then, you were your father's son. So sorry you have lost both parents, but it sounds like you're strong and have a great family. Peace to you and your family.

Thank You former Torie band members. My Dad cherished the memories you spent together...speaking of them over the years many, many times. I felt like I was there. I'm happy that my dad was held close to your hearts. And, not to single anybody out, Peter, I remember those Sunday evenings, My Pops and I, and you and your son David, going to Hudson Speedway every Sunday night to watch the races. I always thought you were such a cool guy and a great friend to my Dad. And Ping-Pong! So much Ping-Pong. Peace. Be well.

I cannot put into words how heartbreaking it is to lose both you, the best grandfather I could have asked for, and the love of your life, Sharon, within the same two weeks, but I am so thankful that you have joined her and will forever be with her in a better place. Grandpa, I’m endlessly grateful for the memories, advice, and love you have shown me the past 17 years. You cared more for grandma and our family than anyone, and taught me the true value of kindness. Your humor cannot be matched, and no one’s music or cooking will ever compare to yours. I love you always, have fun storming in the castle!

I am thankful to have experienced all the memories we got to share together. I am beyond proud to be your granddaughter. This is something I know I will not come back from, all I can say is I will heal and rebuild myself around all of this loss. The hole in my heart will have many new memories and people surrounding it, but not one person or thing could ever fill the emptiness. Your love and compassion will never go forgotten. You were the light of my life, my grandfather, my best friend, and most importantly my greatest gift. Being born into a loving and proud home made me feel more seen than ever. I will never forget the nights we would bake, tie dye potatoes as fake birthday cakes, or make jokes that no one understood. I always knew how much you loved me and how difficult it could be to put up with me. I have never had someone be so understanding of who I was and the comfort it gave me will always be there. I was not prepared for death, and nor did I think I had to say goodbye. I came to accept that I have to love you from afar and that one day we will meet again. There are some things that death cannot take, and that is the love you have surrounded me with. Forever you will be remembered and cherished as someone who kept me up on my feet. I love you always and forever. Fly high and proud!

Dale Jr. and family - your Dad / Gramps was just a great and funny guy to be around in the mid to late '60's. He was the steady beat behind the Tory Band and the glue that held the group together. I can remember the first night we showed up in someone's garage to audition (I don't recall what they were calling themselves) they were all about soft ballads and folk songs. Well, suffice it to say, Dale changed all of that right there that night. We stopped playing ballads and learned how to cover the Animals, the Beatles and Paul Revere and the Raiders. Dale came up with the name Tories because he said we were rebels and also British music advocates. He displayed the name upside down on the front of his bass drum. We are all better people for having had him in our lives. RIP Mapes. And thanks

I'm sorry to hear about your father's passing especially so soon after your mom's passing. Thank you for sharing some of your dad's time together. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Just so happens my Mom had passed about the same time in 2002. Time just flies by way too quick. Please let us know if you should need any thing. 🙏🙏🙏 Chan Family in Chelmsford, Ma

Our friendship began on Front St in Nashua back in the 50’s. He was a great friend, pool shark, ping pong player, co-worker, and of course, drummer. Mapes, my friend, you will be missed.

Rock on, Mapleroot. Put your two color jeans on and uncover your drums. You supplied the beat for our songs and our hearts. Rock on, Mapleroot.

I 'd like to begin by mentioning that if you scroll across the handsome photo of my Pops in his heyday that you can point and click and also view a more recent photograph that was cropped accordingly but originally included a moment with his two granddaughters. For today, the focus is on him. Those who knew my Dad surely recall him to be a strange, misunderstood, polarizing individual. He used to be so proud of a distant memory (taking place around the time of his youthful photograph) where he had a white pair of jeans and a blue pair of jeans and had cut them in half, switched the legs with one another, and then restitched them where upon one leg was blue and the other was white. What a rockstar! When he worked at WSMN I used to listen to him every morning before school and my most cherished memory and favorite saying was the announcing of school cancellations due to inclement weather. "...and NO SCHOOL TODAY!!!" still rings in my ears as if it were yesterday. He had an amazing voice...deep baritones, and as soothing as Barry White. Immensely talented. He used to bring home "promotional" copies of rising rock band albums by the crateload and I bombed my eardrums all through my adolescence listening to the music that if it was too loud, you were too old. And I still crank the volume up to eleven every day. I'd rather be blind than deaf. As for "no school today," it wouldn't be long thereafter that I didn't need the announcement to sneak in the woods of Merrimack and take the day off as I saw fit...and I saw fit frequently...I really put him through the wringer in my teens. He allowed me to learn my own lessons (not that he ever had a choice because it's always been my way or no way) and I was free as a bird since the day I could strum an air guitar. The cops had been to the house on a few occasions. I lit the neighborhood on fire in the fifth grade when I was playing with matches and flung one into a pile of leaves that had an unsealed pinhole in a gas line in the woods that was soon to be newly developed land. Hey, I was just trying to help facilitate the land clearing. Rather than call for help, I ran home hoping it would go out on its own. I got caught by some old hag chasing me down the street with curlers in her hair right at my front doorstep. Busted. He always told me, "I don't care what you do, so long as I don't find out about it." So, I evolved, and did worse things, and got caught less. When I was fifteen I was working at Alexanders on a Saturday morning, a grocery store, and was asked to retrieve carriages out of nearby manmade pond that was on the outskirts of the parking lot. Ironically I had put most of these into the pond prior to working there. An older friend showed up with a hockey net and hockey sticks and a pile of rambunctious kids in the bed of his beater of a truck (I miss those days when you could be so idiotic). So while they all went in to buy Gatorade and Ho-Ho's, I jumped in the back of the truck and when they came out I had made the executive decision to partake in the street hockey festivities. So, off we went. A few hours later he tracked me down in a faraway neighborhood screaming at me that there were fire engines and police officers and ambulances and half the town screening the pond thinking I had drowned. Obviously, I was fired and it would hardly be the only time. But, he forgave me. He said someday it would make a heck of a story. My dad and I shared a lot of common interests over our lifetime together. Our favorite author is Donald Westlake. We traded books of his on a semi-weekly basis. His writing is succinct and not a word wasted on the page. We both agreed on the simplicity of his comedic genius of telling hard-boiled crime capers in as few words as possible. We also had an obsession with the hit television show "Seinfeld." We would have discussions almost entirely using the lingo from the show and would challenge if there was ever a topic that was not ever addressed during its airing of nine seasons. He built me a "Festivus" pole with a stand that to this day is still proudly displayed on December 23rd of every year. I returned the favor by giving him fake donation cards to a charity that didn't exist..."The Human Fund - Money For People." My wife and daughters take an annual trip to Florida every year and in an episode Jerry takes a trip and asked Elaine to get his mail. This request insults George who is present so Jerry asks him to exercise the gaskets in his toilet by requesting it be flushed once a day. Anyway, I asked my dad to do the same, he didn't catch the reference and bit hook, line, and sinker and drove from Merrimack to Derry to flush my toilets for me while I laughed my ass off in sunny Florida. I never saw him more proud of me when he finally figured it out. As for Van Halen, I am only a diehard fan of the original line-up that included David Lee Roth as the lead singer. In fact, I always told him that if I ever have a boy, I would name him David Lee Lonnroth. Sophia, my oldest daughter, tells this to everybody she has ever met what her name would be if she had been born a different sex. My Pops had a motorcycle back in the day that he custom painted the gas tank identical to Eddie Van Halen's signature guitar with the classic red paint and the crisscrossing white and black stripes...and a helmet to match. He automatically became the coolest dad amongst all of my friends. With Sammy Hagar as the new lead singer, my dad had purchased tickets to all four shows being performed in his birth town of Worcester, Massachusetts. I went with two of my friends (one of which drove the truck that infamous day of my presumed drowning) and we headbanged and rocked out: three punk kids and one heck of a Pops. The only bummer was that I couldn't bust out a marijuana joint and light up as was the norm when I went to concerts. You see, I respected the man. I had the unfortunate privilege of informing my Dad of Eddie Van Halen's passing (the greatest guitarist ever to roam the universe) last year and we shared a cry that could form a river. My Dad's recent passing, just sixteen days following the passing of his wife and my beloved Mother, is a tragic loss. I am devastated. I shared these stories with you (there are so many more, some clearly not appropriate) as a means of therapy. I am glassy-eyed yet committed to live the remainder of my life to the fullest to honor what he (they) can no longer do. My Mom and Pops are now together in a most Glorious Kingdom, hand in hand, in their prime of beauty, no longer suffering from debilitating afflictions. They are forgiven. They are at eternal rest and infinite peace. I can't help but smile at the thought. Two days after my Dad passed a five-piece drum set arrived at our house that he purchased for Izzy, my youngest daughter, for her to bang her frustrations out on. We will do so together and the cycle of life will commence. Pops to son. Father to daughter. Tell The Lord and His Son, Jesus Christ, I'll see them when they are ready to receive me. And say hello to Eddie for me. Happy Trails Pops. I Love You More! Bum-Ba-Dee-Da.

D.J., Nancy, Sophia, Izzy, Cheryl and Will, So sorry to hear about the deaths of 'cousin' Dale and his beautiful wife Sharon...just a few weeks ago. It is difficult to imagine what you must be going through. Our deepest sympathies and condolences to you and your family on your profound loss. No question Dale and Sharon left the world a better place. We will keep all of you in our prayers. In the spring we will celebrate their lives. Love, Pam ( Lonnroth) & Dave Aieta and family

My condolences on your loss.