Memorial talk for my dad
Thank you everyone for coming today to share in the memories of the shortest giant many will ever know. I’d like to start by saying thank you to my mom and my siblings for the chance to write this tribute to my father as it’s been a emotional healing tool which will help strengthen the love and memories I have of my father. “Come on, let’s go for a walk” this small sentence means so many different things and it’s meaning has changed many times. Growing up I dreaded this sentence as it meant dad wanted to show me what work needed done or what I had done wrong and how to do it correctly. As I grew up the sentence’s meaning changed and meant come see what I’VE done or what project he was working on. Yet still as time changed and I myself became a father the meaning changed again, now the meaning has become “i love you, and wish to spend time with you!” It was never really about what new tree he had planted or what new pile of wood someone had dropped off to him to be cut up, it was about time with each of us. A moment of your presence, a moment of memory, a moment of love that I will forever cherish! As many are aware my fathers proudest achievements were never about a new car or job promotion, His greatest crowning achievements were always first and foremost the marriage to his beautiful new bride and their many children. If you ever sat and listened to him for more than a minute chances are he’d regale you with the story of the moment he met my mother and instantly knew she was then and forever to be the love of his life. He was dedicated to her and his children through all aspects of his life. Growing up with 12 children in the house you can imagine there were ALWAYS chores to be done, all of us children have many stories of dad sitting down to fold laundry while watching Saturday morning cartoons, always a laugh and chuckle. If it wasn’t laundry to be folded there were potatoes to be peeled for one of dads weekend breakfast creations. Beware liver and onions were a favorite of his (YUCK). My father grew up working very hard to help support his own family everything from milking cows to working on cars. This hard work ethic and dedication carried over to his married life and raising his own kids. I HATED as most kids being told no I can’t just go play first I’d need to spend an hour pulling weeds or chopping wood. But hey my friends as well as my siblings and their friends can all agree many memories were created out in the garden talking with each other or rushing to get whichever chore had been assigned to go hang out. Secretly I look back and wonder if part of his plan was for that time to be bonding time between us siblings as much as to get the job done. Dad had many children but not just his own offspring if you were one of the neighborhood kids dad would be the first to say pull up a chair were having dinner, or here’s a box there’s the pile of wood go fill it. Dads life was full of service and some of his favorite callings were being a primary teacher with my mom (lets be honest he was one of the kids at heart) he was a scouting leader and loved to be out camping or helping his boys (biological and not) earn whichever badge they were working on. Service to others brought dad joy without measure. He always taught us that being of service to others brought its own joy to life. I didn’t always understand until I grew up and was able to see and feel that same joy after helping others. He struggled later in life as his body slowly failed him and his abilities to be of service to others became more and more difficult. I’d remind him often that maybe it was gods way of reminding him that being of service extends to allowing others to help you as well. After all the years of him setting the standard and being the example now was his chance to see the fruits of his labors come back to him. Bare with me as I jump around from memory to memory there are so many for so many of us that when you think of this little man I hope many remember him as the giant we all know in our hearts. Camping played a vital role in my family which I’m learning more and more to appreciate. It meant a step away from the chaos of our day to day lives, it meant a step away from the chores, the weeding, the piles of laundry our SMALL herd created. But more importantly it meant time with dad and his appreciation of the outdoors. It meant dad could teach us how to use a Dutch oven or how to build the perfect log cabin for a fire. Camping meant staying up late talking around the campfire telling stories and making each other laugh and laughing was one of my dads favorite activities. These were times dad loved most, just being with his family. The annual deer hunt all the boys went on with dad was never about getting a deer (lets be honest with a small army stomping through the woods laughing and joking we were never going to get one) for dad it was about time with his kids. It was catching up with us on our lives and whatever new endeavor we were up to. There were the times I dreaded when he asked me to help change the oil in the car it was as much about teaching me life lessons as it was an excuse for dad to listen to my day and be involved with my life. Let’s be honest Half of Grantsville spent time in our back yard cutting wood or stacking it at some point. There wasn’t a friend any of us had growing up that didn’t get to pull weeds in the garden at one point but it’s those times I look back on and appreciate my father for because I now know it was because he truly loved each and everyone and they were reasons to keep us together. There are so many memories I can share from a life well lived and loved but that only reminds me more of how fidgety and antsy dad would get from sitting for to long so with that I’ll simply finish with a poem. Memories of Dad Author Unknown I will take this special moment To turn my thoughts to Dad Thank him for the home he gave For all the things we had. We think about the fleeting years Too quickly, gone for good It seems like only yesterday I’d go back if I could. A time when Dad was always there, No matter what the weather. Always strong when things went wrong He held our lives together. He strived so hard from day to day And never once complained. With steady hands, he worked so hard And kept the family name. He taught us that hard work pays off, You reap just what you sow. He said that if you tend your crops, Your field will overflow. My life has been bountiful He taught me how to give In his firm and steadfast way He taught me how to live. Dad dwells among the angels now He left us much too soon He glides across a golden field Above the harvest moon. I see him in the summer rain, He rides upon the wind And when my path is beaten down He picks me up again. I love you dad even more than I could have verbally expressed.