My dad

I’ve been taking care of my elderly dad—at his home in Syracuse, NY and then here at my house in Pennsylvania. He did a gradual decline in that time and finally departed this old world around lunchtime on Thursday, June 2. My sister Marian was by his side when he closed his eyes. Now he’s reunited with our mom.

I’ll post links to the official obituary later. Pop was a beloved husband & father; scholar; historian; exhaustive researcher; graphic designer; exemplary draftsman and (as you see in this post and this one) a good explainer of things. He loved military history especially and dragging his family around to explore old forts in the northeastern United States. Pop’s research library was massive and rigorously organized. He wrote a book about the Battle of Long Island. He researched and illustrated countless scenes of troops in their correct uniforms for the Company of Military Historians (of which he was a Fellow). He liked old radio shows; cowboys; smoking cigars; railroads; Bob & Ray; military music; bagpipes; and British music hall music. He was a Boy Scout and in the Korean War, Sergeant Manders served in the U.S. Army as a surveyor (a risky job often performed behind enemy lines—he was locating machine gun nests). Pop taught me a moral code and instilled in me mental discipline. His influence on me is profound.

Thanks for everything, Pop. Love you.
Eric Irvine Manders
August 7, 1930 – June 2, 2022