First I want to thank those who have posted so far on this thread.
We have enjoyed reading all the posts and viewing the pictures.

Second, I encourage many more to post and even well beyond fathers day this Sunday.
This thread should remain alive for many days to come.

I also do not deserve all the credit for starting this thread.
"FP" and "oledoc2u" were viewing another thread I posted with some history about my dad
and his gas station from 1959 and suggested a fathers day thread.
With his permission I started this one.


Keep the post coming please !!

 

My Dad would have been 90 next month. When he died I asked if I could do the eulogy.... For Father's Day, I'm going to post it here...

When I first asked my mother about speaking this morning, she said yes, but "Keep it short". Sorry Mom.

My father had a novel way of measuring how successful a person was. He would count the number of people at the person's wake or funeral. I don't think he had a higher compliment for a person than when they had a lot of people pay their respects. On the way home he'd say, "he had a great wake - did you see all the people that were there?" I know he would be proud - and grateful for all of you who came to the wake last night or are here today. I know we are. Of course he'd also say "don't make such a big fuss - why don't you go home or to work - don't make such a big deal of this."

As I tried to figure out how to sum up my Dad's life I recalled one of my favorite short stories - by a man named Maurice Walsh who wrote about life in Ireland. His most famous story was -The Quiet Man. You may remember it as a wonderful movie starring John Wayne. No better expression described my father better than - "a quiet man".

God, he hated noise. He didn't judge a restaurant by the quality of food or service - it was how quiet it was. I know he loved his grandchildren immensely. He was devoted to them - but when they were all running around the house, you could tell he hated the noise. He loved it when one of us had a family dinner because he could leave right after he ate.

Dad taught me one of "secrets" while he was at parties. He rarely spoke. He often joked, "people think I'm brilliant because I never speak when we're out, so I can't say anything to make them think otherwise" He was very much a quiet man.

The thing that impressed me the most was the way Dad could do so much, accomplish so much in his life, and never need to talk about it. My father was very proud of his service to his country during World War Two. He was proud of his Bronze Star and Purple Heart, but to this day I have no idea how he earned them. He came back from the war and just turned a page in his life. Many years ago his neighbor was shot, and he ran over and applied a tourniquet and saved his life. If my mom hadn't saved a newspaper clipping I'd have never known. He didn't need to feel important; maybe that's the sign of a really important person.

In almost any organization that he was involved in, he rose to a leadership position, but in a quiet, non - threatening way. He did it the old fashioned way, by working as hard or harder than anyone else in the club, and he was recognized for it.

My father invented the term "work ethic". He was the best at what he did, and worked long hours. Then he would go home and work for hours more on the books, downstairs. The plumbing trade is really tough on those who do it. You work long hours, with very physical, demanding labor, and then you have to worry about whether or not you are going to get paid. My dad tackled it with all the energy you could imagine. I never saw him take advantage of a customer. He was truly dedicated to them.

Dad had a sense of humor, not that he told a lot of jokes, but he found humor in a lot of things. I never heard my father tell a dirty joke or an ethnic joke. He had way too much dignity for that. Once we were working in a restaurant and he was testing a gas line. He was standing up high on the top rung of a 12 foot ladder, and opened up the valve on a 2 1/2" Gas line - that is a LOT of gas. When he couldn't smell gas he did what we are always told not to do - he lit a match! All of a sudden there was a huge fireball with two legs sticking out of the bottom. My Dad very carefully shut off the gas valve and then we went around putting out all of the little fires he'd started. When he was sure everything was O. K. he patted the sides of his head and said " I needed a haircut anyway!"

He rarely swore, and taught me to respect other people. I never - well - almost never- heard him say a bad thing about anyone. He wasn't like that. That's probably why I've never heard anybody say a mean thing about him, either.

A couple of years ago I found myself hitting one of life's little speed bumps and ended up moving-in temporarily with my parents. It was a marvelous opportunity to spend some real quality time with both Mom and Dad. Almost every night I'd sit with Dad watching television - He loved shows like "The Equalizer" and "Spencer for Hire" (he also loved to read - he read almost every one of the Spencer novels). We had a chance to have some really great conversations and I am always going treasure them. One night we were sitting there and my Dad looked over and said, "I'm really sorry".

I asked him "what for?"

He then said, "If we hadn't adopted you, maybe somebody better off would have, and you wouldn't be in this jam. Somebody who could have provided more than I could."

I can't begin to describe how much pain I felt for my Dad at that moment. I said, "First of all, Dab and I had anything we ever needed growing up. We always had lots of food on the table - (and if you know my mom, you know how true that is). We always lived in a great house in a good neighborhood, and my brother and I always had a car to drive if we needed one - It might be a 1962 Chevy, but we had transportation. We traveled as a family a lot, and I know he enjoyed the trips he took with us and the trips he took with Mom.

I remember once when I was living in New Jersey and Dad would call about once a week just to see how we were doing. I hadn't heard from him and I was worried - so I called him. They had gone to Spain on a trip and hadn't told us. I remember him asking so matter-of-factly " Did your mother tell you we were almost killed in Tangiers"? What a bizarre way to start a conversation. It seemed that they had been standing on a street corner and a large sign fell off a building and landed between them. They had some great adventures together.

When Dab and I were in High school Dad didn't just buy one - he bought two snowmobiles and we would go up to Massachusetts almost every weekend. It was great spending the time with him and his friends, and tremendous fun.

I reminded him that, thanks to his and Mom's hard work, my college education was totally paid for. They provided plenty for us! I reminded him of these wonderful experiences and more.

I then continued: "second of all, I got from you the things that money can't buy. I learned about integrity, honesty and ethics, commitment to a task, dedication to one's family, - I learned about how you really only have your name, and you have to ensure that it stays a good one. And my father gave us a very good name to live up to. Dab and I grew up in a house with two parents that loved us deeply and completely, and Dad, nobody - no matter how wealthy they were, could have done a better job than you and Mom."

That's the kind of father I had, he only wanted to do better. We will miss him, but he is with me every day, and I hope that I will make him proud.

Last Saturday I was sitting in Dad's room reading, listening to him breath. He was sleeping quietly. As his breathing slowed, and softened, I became concerned and called a nurse. That was when he very gently - quietly let go of his hold on Earth and began his journey to a better place. I was glad to be with him, to see how peaceful he was when he passed away.

My father walked quietly through the world, but left a wonderful mark on the world.

I tried to think of a way of closing that would mean the most to Dad, and I couldn't think of anything better than to ask each of you to join us now in a moment of silence.
PAUSE
I know Dad would like that best of all.
On behalf of the family, thank you for your kindness, and we hope you will join us in the hall next door for refreshments after the service - Thank you.

 

Beautiful, thank you for sharing that with us your father sounds like a great guy...

 

Gibson Junkie,

What an absolutely lovely picture of your father.

See, I told you guys photos weren't required.

roadster with a stick

 

 

gibsonjunkie,

What can I say after reading that. WOW
I am still wiping away tears.
Thank you so much for sharing such a personal story of dad with us
My best , Valk

 

 

I was one lucky guy!

My Mom turns 88 tomorrow - Dad's been gone 8 years and she keeps saying she's ready to go see him... Those of you who still have your folks and your health - cherish every moment!

 

Smokey847's Dad
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY EVERYONE!

 

I know I had a Father, we all do.

I just don't know who he is/was & I never will.

However, Happy Father's Day Dad, if you're still alive somewhere & if Not, I hope you had a Great life!

(Sorry guys, that's the best I could do under the circumstances)

SF

 

I can't imagine not knowing SF. Looks like you turned out great without a dad, I give credit to your mom.

Have a good day SF.

 

That was nice Bill.
A lot of guys would have felt different.

You are a class act.


franc

 

Now most importantly YOU are a dad and spend time with your son as you will be in just a few weeks from now on a nice long cruise at sea.
You are someones dad and for that I wish you a Happy Fathers Day !!

 

I'm getting pics together, Happy Father's Day.

 

father.jpg

This is my father "explaining some fine point of physics to Werner Von Braun,"or so he always claimed.