Maynard William Rorman, Jr.

The family requests memorial contributions in Maynard's honor be made to Southern Gables Church, 4001 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Littleton, CO 80123; American Heart Association of Colorado, 1280 S. Parker Road, Denver, CO 80231; or American Diabetes Association, 2480 W. 26th Ave., Suite 120-B, Denver, CO 80211. My father, Maynard William Rorman, Jr. was born in Sacramento, California on August 19, 1928. He was the eldest child of Maynard William and Marion Ada Apker Rorman. He was always proud of being named for his father, and 'Junior' is even listed on his birth certificate. Dad spoke of a happy childhood with fond memories of a large extended family. He had two siblings, Bob and Dawn Marie. The boys loved to tease their sister. She soon learned to keep an eye on her dolls or she might find her brothers parachuting them out of a 2nd story window. A few months after graduating from Grant Union High School in 1946, Dad enlisted in the Army. His company was part of the American occupation force in Japan. After his honorable discharge, he returned home to Sacramento and attended Grant Technical College. Joyce, a beautiful girl in his Geometry class, caught Dad's eye and they began dating. At the time, he drove a 1936 Ford Coupe with a cloth top. When it rained, the roof would leak over the passenger seat. Because it rained a lot in California and Joyce didn't want to get wet, she had to sit closer to Dad to keep dry. Because she was sitting next to him, he would put his arm around her. While he never actually admitted it, Joyce always teased him about poking those holes in the roof on purpose. On April 2, 1950, Dad and Mom were married. They lived in student housing while Maynard studied architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. One of the qualities that first attracted Mom to my dad was the way he loved babies. If there was a baby in the room, that's where you would find my dad. By the time he earned his degree in 1955, they had three daughters: Susan, Karen, and Joanne. Each of us girls arrived in the middle of mid-terms or finals. Dad was a loving husband and father, and he played an active role in the care of his children. Changing diapers or calming a crying baby never fazed him a bit. During his college years, money was often tight. But in those hard times, Dad always told Mom not to worry. He said, 'God will take care of us. He always does.' Throughout their married life, Dad remained active in church until his health began to fail. After graduation, my parents moved their family to Carlsbad, New Mexico where Dad worked as an architectural draftsman. In 1958, we moved to Colorado, where the last child, Jim was born. Dad loved to make things for us kids, and we have fond memories of him building high jumps in the back yard and using our old roller skate wheels to make skateboards. In the early 60's he became a certified Architect and became a member of the American Institute of Architects. He often worked late in the evenings, but was never too busy to stop and call us kids to wish us good night. Dad was licensed as an architect in 25 states, and assisted on projects in several others, including Hawaii. One of his favorite projects was when he was the architect of record on a remodel of the Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. Dad loved computers. He purchased one of the first computer aided drafting programs and became so proficient with it that he was often asked to train other architects how to use the program My dad was very handy and could fix almost anything Joyce or the kids needed. He also enjoyed working on the house. He finished several rooms in the basement. We kids remember many years of falling asleep to the sound of the radial arm saw buzzing in the background. Dad liked teaching his children life lessons, but his lessons didn't always go as planned. On a trip through Nevada, our family stopped at a café for lunch. The café had a slot machine and we kids saw somebody win a few coins. We were all excited about the magical machine where a person could win money. Dad wanted us children to understand that gambling wasn't a good idea. He put a coin in a slot machine, pulled the handle, and won! Our eyes got big. He took a coin from his winnings and put it in the slot machine. He won AGAIN! Our eyes got even bigger. Almost every time he put in a coin, Dad would win. But he was persistent. It took almost half an hour before he finally managed to lose all of his money, thus teaching us the lesson that gambling didn't pay. Dad had a love of the outdoors and often took the family ice skating at Evergreen Lake. He introduced us to skiing and fishing, and fostered a passion for the great outdoors in each of us. Through church, Mom and Dad met three other couples with young children. The four families spent countless weekends camping and exploring the mountains of Colorado. We would take off on a Friday evening and never know where we might wind up. We set up tents in the snow and in the dark, and might wake up to find ourselves in the middle of a cow pasture. Dad could never sit still for long while camping. If the wind came up, he would rig a tarp to protect Mom while she cooked. If the sun shifted, he would hang a tarp to create some shade. He was always looking for ways to make life easier for Mom, even in the mountains. Dad was a huge Broncos fan. In 1967, Mom gave him season tickets for his birthday and he was a faithful South Stands fan for over 25 years, until his health prevented him from climbing the steps to his seat. Another life-long passion was model railroading. Dad belonged to the Colorado Rail Links and a group of railroad buddies known as FERD. Together they built train modules that could be mixed and matched in endless combinations. Each year the group displayed their modules at numerous train shows around Colorado and nearby states. Dad helped organize and run a bi-monthly model railroad Swap Meet, and in recent years, he attended a monthly breakfast with his Men's Railroad Prayer group. My dad loved being a grandfather and enjoyed making things for his grandchildren, just as he had for his kids. He and his railroad buddies built a portable model train layout for Jason when he was only 5. Jason spent hours and hours operating his trains. Later, Dad asked Susan and Bruce if he could make just a very small layout for Jason in their family room. That very small layout eventually grew from a single track along one wall to a layout that ran along 3 walls and included a town, a railroad yard, and a mountain. In Oregon Dad built a 2-story tree house for grandson, Brian. Of course it had all the structural integrity of a real house. For granddaughters, Ali and Kim, he created a playhouse. While still in Colorado, Dad built and painted gingerbread trim for the roof, a door, and flower boxes for the windows. The pieces were made to fit inside his suitcase when he flew to Oregon, and were assembled and installed after he arrived. Everything fit together perfectly. Mom added curtains and other amenities to complete the project. Over the years, the family expanded when Bruce, Bob, and Sue married into the clan. When speaking of his 'kids', Dad always included his sons and daughter-in-law. With Bruce he experienced the adventure of rafting. With Bob, a mutual interest in computers and design. And with Sue, a mutual love of Chinese food. Mom and Dad spent 56 wonderful years together. They were big supporters of each other's hobbies. When they traveled, they stopped at every railroad museum and quilt shop. In later years, he helped Mom with her quilting by cutting out countless patterns for her projects. When she had surgery, he took wonderful care of her and even in his final days, he spoke of ways to make her life easier. In 1981 my dad had his first quadruple bypass surgery and over the next 25 years, he fought the effects of heart disease, diabetes, glaucoma, and kidney failure. Through it all, he never complained and often said, 'As long as I can put one foot in front of the other, I'm doing pretty good.' Dad had a big heart and loved doing things for others. He met challenges with determination and integrity. He taught his children and grandchildren to act with honesty, to develop a strong work ethic, and the importance of family. Those qualities are what mean the most to his family, and we are sure that these same qualities have touched your life in some way, also. Thank you for celebrating his life with us. We love you, Dad, and we'll all miss you.