A Tribute to My Dad

This weekend is looking like it's going to be extremely busy for us so I decided to do a tribute to my dad for Father's Day before the craziness begins.

There’s not a song that is like the one I quoted in my tribute to my mother so I’ve decided to create my own meaning to the letters in the word Father.  My father passed away in October of 2001, five months after my mother. I am so grateful they are both together and I’m sure they are working hard where they are.  I looked forward to the day that I will see them again.  I am so grateful that my dad took my mother to the LDS temple to be married for eternity. Here goes:

F is for Funny.  My dad was not the easiest person to live with but then who is? However, he definitely had his funny moments. You just had to pay attention and appreciate his sense of humor.

A is for Always providing for us. We always had what we needed when we were growing up. We had extras too but my Dad did not give the extras easily.  I learned to appreciate his thriftiness when I was older. That is one great lesson I learned from him.

T is for Trust.  My Dad was an extremely trustworthy person.  His word was his honor. 

H is for Hardworker.  My Dad worked hard at his job.  He also did plenty of odd jobs around the house. He was pretty handy at fixing the small electrical things in our home. Out of necessity he taught me to get the swamp cooler ready for the summer.  He had brain surgery and it threw his equilibrium off so it was hard for him to get on the roof. To this day, if I had to, I could get a swamp cooler ready.  However, climbing on the roof would be harder now. There’s not many swamp cooler’s today except for the home that my siblings and I share in Utah. And it isn’t on the roof!

E is for Eternal Companion. He adored and worshipped my mother.  They were married in the LDS St. George temple on April 28, 1945. I know that they are enjoying their Eternal marriage in heaven together.

R is for Realize.  The older I get the more I realize how much I appreciate the man my father was and the example he set.  And I realize that I really miss him and love him.

Below is a picture of my dad in his Navy uniform.  He served during World War II and he was in his early 20's. He enlisted on the 1st of November, 1942. He was in his early 40's when he had brain surgery to remove a non-cancerous brain tumor.  It left him paralyzed on one side of his face.  He never liked his picture taken after that.

“Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes.”  ~Gloria Naylor

I had to add the following because I found it humorous.  I don’t know if my dad ever changed diapers but if he did it would have been a cloth diaper.  These are instructions that are very likely for a man.  My dad was a sports fan and Jimmy Piersal was a baseball player who played baseball in the 50’s and 60’s.  He played for about 5 different teams. So I think my dad would appreciate this.

Jimmy Piersal, on how to diaper a baby, 1968
“Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat.  Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound.  Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together.  Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.”