Lake Limerick Remembers Dale Darling
In the early 1990’s, the Lake Limerick community welcomed Dale Darling, who would become a beloved fixture in the community, and our longest serving staff member. Dale tended bar in the Blarney Room, but we all know that he did more than serve great drinks…he was a friend, counselor, advisor; he supported other members of his team at the Inn; he commiserated others’ sorrows, and celebrated others’ joys; he grumped and
grumbled and then smiled and laughed, and he made visiting his territory a relief from everyday ups and downs. He was a valued part of Lake Limerick through three decades and several generations of community families.
Dale welcomed many newcomers to Lake Limerick, and he had the uncanny ability to meet someone once, and thereafter remember not only their name but also what they preferred to drink. He could deliver a drink to the patio in a martini glass filled to the brim without spilling a drop, except for that one time he spilled a drink down a long-time member’s neck, and they showed up the next week in rain gear—to lots of laughter.
He made sure that certain good customers made it home safely after a relaxing evening in the Blarney Room.
And the geese on the lawn at the Inn feared him, while the members cheered him.
We and the Lake Limerick community will fondly remember Dale, and we join the entire community in extending our sincere condolences to Dale’s family.
To paraphrase Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind, “Frankly, DARLING, we DO give a damn” that you are gone, and we will miss you. Gone, but not forgotten.
–The Lake Limerick Board of Directors
A Celebration of Life was held for Dale on August 30. Click to see the photo gallery for that event.
