Warren Arthur "Art" Girdley was born 6/30/1921 in Paris, Illinois and passed away 5/7/2012 in Weatherford, Texas. Art was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Downs Girdley and his second wife, Lila Sue Pedigo. He is survived by daughter, Judie Girdley Deal (spouse Paul). He is also survived by granddaughter, Kirsten Riley Smith (spouse George Smith); great-grandchildren Andrew and Matthew Romano and Ava Blackney and also his grandson, Nick Riley (spouse Stacey Crumal Riley) and great-granddaughter, McKenna Riley. Art was the oldest of nine children. His surviving siblings are Patty, Doris, Martha, David and Robert. Art enjoyed his career as a carpenter; his specialty was framing new houses. For many years he worked with his father, Alvah Ray Girdley and then his uncle, John Girdley. He loved his work and was well known for his speed and perfection. I remembered him saying, "I can't wait for tomorrow so I can go back to work." I wish everyone could enjoy their work this much. Outside of work fishing was his passion. Mom and I spent many weekends on fishing trips with Dad. He really wanted me to enjoy fishing as much as he did. Little did he know that as soon as he had baited my hook and cast off I reeled it in and removed the bait. I would read, with the line in the water. He was happy and I was happy...sunbathing and reading. After he retired he spent hundreds of hours in his work shop crafting religious crosses. Each beautiful cross had an inlay of contrasting wood. A small hole at the top with a silk ribbon made the crosses easy to hang. This hobby, with the crosses given to family and friends grew into wide spread demand for the crosses. His only fast rule was that the crosses could only be given away, never sold. This work he loved became a spiritual journey for him. Hundreds of crosses were donated to organizations like the V.A. Hospital in Indianapolis. Many were included in care packages destined for our troops overseas. He was thrilled to receive numerous thank you letters from our fighting men and women. He was even interviewed for a newspaper article titled "The ART of making crosses"! He lived most of his life in or near Indianapolis. For the last few years he lived in Fillmore, Indiana. He loved this small community and made many great friends. In 2007 he moved to Texas to live with his daughter Judie and her husband Paul. There he was able to enjoy his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The great-granddaughters were newborn and six-years-old. He spent hours on the floor entertaining our sweet little girls. They loved their "Papa D'Art" very much. Art was extremely musically talented. As a child he taught himself to play the harmonica, an endeavor he enjoyed throughout his life. As an adult he taught himself to play the organ. He thoroughly enjoyed entertaining guests. He also mastered whistling and copying the "language" of his friends, the wild birds. In his beloved country home in Fillmore, he sat outside for hours on end visiting with his feathered friends. One of my favorite stories is about when he was a boy and his dad would frequently blow "Taps" at a grave-side funeral. Young Art would be sent a distance away, behind a tombstone and blow the echo. Art enjoyed his family and friends….everyone. He loved to entertain by kidding around and pulling many pranks…anything to make people laugh. One of his favorite things (and one of his pranks least enjoyed by unsuspecting victims) was to fake falling down a flight of stairs! He also delighted in taking his baby daughter (me!) walking on the roof of our house!! He worked a lot on the bare beams of houses under construction and was quite secure in his ability to "safely" include baby Judie on this adventure. My Mom vehemently opposed the idea! I guess I won the conflict….I never fell off! As I said, he loved people, and more often than I can remember, he shared his time, talent and energy, quietly and modestly with folks in need. My daughter's favorite memory is that he would build her a new playhouse whenever we moved. My mom would add curtains and a table and chairs. How Kirsten and her little friends enjoyed those playhouses. I am very much in awe of his talent for forging friendships. My address book is loaded with friends he made over the years and kept forever. I admire the characteristics of a person who is able to do that, and appreciates the value of doing it. The minister conducting his funeral service, Rev. Willis Howard, was a neighbor for over 50 years. Until Art moved to Texas, he and Reverend Howard remained the best of buddies. Too many afternoons to count they would lunch together, first going to Burger King for their favorite fish sandwich, then swinging by McDonald's for a hot apple pie. Recently Reverend Howard reminded me that Art had built the altar in his church. He said, "Judie, every time I walk into Church I remember Art working on that altar." As Art got older he frequently remembered the years he served in the Army Air Corps. He was very proud of serving our country. He loved to talk about his days working on the planes, the flight crews and the thrill of working so closely with the men who bravely took to the air to ensure safety for all of us and protecting the rights of every American citizen. That is why his family is so humbled to watch Dad receiving the honor of a military funeral. I know he will be smiling down on us as the 21 gun salute rings out to honor Dad. For the last two years Art lived in a nursing home. At first he hated the idea of being in a nursing home, but soon he grew to love the staff and they cared for and loved him too. So often the staff would stop me to say how much they loved Art, how he always made them smile, and how much they enjoyed the antics he continued to pull to entertain people. Even though Dad, suffering Alzheimers disease, hadn't recognized any of us for three years, he continued to have his spunk and humor. It was such a blessing and comfort to us, knowing that the best part of him had eluded this ravaging disease. We brought him home to Indianapolis for burial, he has so many family and friends here and I am pleased to know that he will rest beside my Mom forever.