Barry (Bugs) Louis Blomquist Sr., 80, of North Branch, kicked off his shoes one last time and soft-shoe shuffled from this world into the next on July 22, 2013.

From meager beginnings in Onamia, Minn., Dad first fashioned his own bootstraps, then proceeded to lift himself up time and again, higher and higher each time. In 1963, with a wife, five kids, a dog and $90 in his pocket, he moved his family to the University of Minnesota area to begin his first year of college towards a law degree. In 1971, the family moved to North Branch where Dad became known not only for his skills as an attorney specializing in land and zoning issues, but his love of a practical joke. He gave as well as got and loved every minute of it. Many will remember his baritone laugh rocketing off the walls of whatever room he was in.

  
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