Greetings Golfers,

I wasn’t sure if I should do this. Too much of what should be private has become public. However, my dad was the kind of guy that we don’t hear enough about.

James Francis Abts was born and raised in Yankton, South Dakota. Though he and my mom moved to Minneapolis over 60 years ago, he still read the Yankton paper.

I wish you knew him. He was fun and funny and charming … but what drew you to him was his kindness. Some people are nice but not kind. He was both … but especially kind.

Yet, that kindness also made life difficult for my dad. He really couldn’t believe that people could be cruel. Not that he grew-up in la-la land. Like too many people, he grew-up in a dysfunctional family. But, it didn’t harden his heart.

So to make a new life, he and my mom moved up to the big city. And he decided to sell life insurance. Wow. A young man with a wife and two kids … in a new city … trying to make a living in a business based on relationships. That could make a kind man cold.

But it didn’t. He had to become a grinder – which wasn’t his nature – but he did it. And he became a successful insurance agent. People trusted him. He actually cared about the people he sold insurance – and they knew it.

I learned so much by just watching him. He always treated people with respect – everyone he met. He saw beauty in life, in nature, in people. No wonder he was kind. He saw the best in this life. Now he’s in an even better place.

R.I.P.

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
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