In Loving Memory

On Sunday, January 4, 2009 at about 10:58 p.m., my father passed away. On Friday, he took a turn for the worse. My mother, sister and myself were there with him when he took his last breath and his heart stopped beating. My father left this world in peace.

To say that I'm devatstated doesn't even begin to cover it. The following is a letter I wrote to him. I put a copy in the coffin with him and I also read it as my eulogy to him.

Dear Daddy:

There is so much I want to say, but don’t know where to start. You were the best father. You did so much for us and we have so many great memories of you. I only hope I can be half as good of a parent as you were.

You were always there for me in the middle of the night when I called out for you (for either a bad dream or an ache or pain). You were always there to help with homework. You always took us trick or treating. You helped us prepare our pom pom routine for Chicago. You even coached Pop Warner football when Allison and I started cheering. You taught me to drive – both hands on the wheel, you don’t need the radio, stop looking in the rear view mirror too much! You took us on so many vacations – family week really was a lot fun! These things don’t even skim the surface of all you have done.

Seeing the joy and excitement on your face at the Transplant Olympics makes the long drive out to Pittsburgh worth it.

You were my Hero Daddy. You struggled for so long and I never heard you complain. You just trudged through and continued to work through it. I am so sorry that your body couldn’t hold out. I know you are in a better place and will now be able to play golf every day and eat your frozen bread sandwiches whenever you want. I hope there is a purple chair for you to relax in at the end of your round of golf.

I am sad that Steven will never get to know you in-person, but we will make sure he knows all about you through our memories.

Thank you Daddy. Thank you for loving us the way you did.