~IN MEMORY OF MY DAD~
This is the hardest page I have had to do...I should say that I've WANTED to do. This last Monday {April 2, 2001} my father passed away from the dreaded disease of cancer. He suffered hard as most do who have cancer, and it was horrible having to watch him suffer so, but I would not have traded the time I had with him for anything in the world. He died holding my hand and I was so blessed because not only was I able to be there to tell him I loved him, but I was able to hear him tell me he loved me too. Those were the last words he spoke to me, and I will carry them with me always. He was a man of integrity and honesty and he lived the way he believed. He loved to hunt and fish, he loved to laugh, and he loved to be around people. But mostly he loved his family. He and my mother were married for 60 years. They were able to spend this special occasion together this last September...even though it was spent in the hospital. They didn't always have the easiest life, they lost their first child at the age of six months, they lived through the dreaded years of the depression, and he served in both WW2 and the Korean War. In fact he was in Korea when I was born. I was three months old before he was able to see and hold me. I have two older brothers, and I know how deeply they feel his loss also. {yes, I was the "baby"} We are a small family but a close family. My dad had four grandchildren who were the joy of his life. {such a proud grandpa!!} We had our share of up's and down's just like any other..but we always knew mom & dad were there for us to help us through. We were blessed. He was a good man and will live forever in the memory of his family and many, many friends. I found this following short verse, and I don't know who wrote it or spoke it, but I believe it would have been something my dad would have felt:
If I am to be rememberedI hope it is for honesty I try to demonstrate the patience I try to live by, and the compassion I feel for others.
I hope and pray that I may be as good a mother to my son as my father was to me. That he will know his mother wants the best for him, is proud of all that he does but most of all that I love him. The following is a poem that I found that best describes my thoughts and feelings for my father...this goes out to you dad ..with love!
They say memories are golden,
Well maybe that is true:
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.
A million times I needed you,
A million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you,
You never would have died.
In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still;
In my heart you hold a place
No one could ever fill.
But now I know you want me
To mourn for you no more,
To remember the happy times
Life still has much in store.
Since you'll never be forgotten
I pledge to you today;
A hallowed place within my heart
Is where you'll always stay.
If tears could build a stairway
And Heartache make a lane;
I'd walk the path to heaven
And bring you back again.
Our family chain is broken.
and nothing seems the same;
But as God calls us one by one,
The chain will link again.
I miss him already but I know I will love this dear man til the day I die. I know he was ready to leave this world...but it just doesn't make losing him any easier. I know I must hang unto the words in the following poem as I am sure my dad felt this way in his heart...
HE SET ME FREE
Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free.
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took His hand when I heard Him call,
I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I found that peace at the close of the day.
If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah yes, these things I too will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you all the sunshine of tomorrow,
My life's been full, I've savored much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now...He set me free.
~Author Unknown~
~In loving memory of my dad~
January 25,1921~April 2,2001
~CHRIS~
 
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