Tribute to my dad:
Eulogy - delivered May 28, 2014 at 11:00 AM
For those of you who do not know me, I am Tom’s kid
– Tara. That is how he always introduced
me, as his kid.
Christopher Reeve’s once said, “[Life’s] like a
game of cards and if you think the game is worthwhile, then you just play the
hand you're dealt. Sometimes you get a
lot of face cards, sometimes you don't. But I think the game's worthwhile.”
My dad lived life as if he had been
dealt a royal flush. My dad embraced life and in the words of Frank Sinatra –
he did things his way.
My dad had an infectious smile. As he would tell stories and give advice, he
typically would do so with that grin. Most of the pictures I have of my father
have that beautiful smile. For those of
you knew my dad, you know that he always had a story. His stories were always
entertaining and illustrated that he always had a plan. One of my favorite stories my dad shared with
me was when he attempted to make pancakes for the entire family when he was a
young child. He was too young to
understand how to adjust a recipe correctly but old enough to logically
try. While it did not turn out quite as
he imaged, we all laughed hysterically has he re-told that story. My grandma recently told me the story about
when I was a baby and my dad laid me on the carpet in the living room because
he knew that I couldn’t fall off the floor – that was my dad, always thinking!
My dad knew good food. I can remember eating pounds
of shrimp with my dad. He always took me
to eat at local places that had amazing food.
In addition to taking me out for food, he was a great cook! I will never
forget cookouts with my dad, especially when he brought his homemade baked
beans. I remember when I was in junior
high school and he took me crabbing on the Pier. He taught me how to bait the traps, watched
the crab pots, and pull them up when they were full. He taught me how to sort crabs, keeping only
the most delicious ones – not too big nor too small. That night, I learned how to pick up a crab
without getting pinched. We spent the
next day steaming the crabs and then picking them. That is one of my favorite memories of my
dad. When I think of my dad, I think of
the water – it was one of his favorite places to spend his time.
My dad would suffer though shopping trips to the
mall. He would take me to the movies and
always let me pick what we were going to see.
While I know these were not his favorite things to do, he did them to
spend time with me.
My dad enjoyed watching sports, especially NASCAR
and Dale Earnhardt. While we did not always see eye to eye on favorite teams,
we always had good conversations about the games. I can fondly remember the
time he bought me a skateboard. He was
the first to try it and he was the first to have it slide right out from under
him. While he might not have been a skateboarder, he was quite the hunter and
fisher.
I will remember my father for his smile, his
stories, and most of all for how proud he was of me. I will remember how much
he loved his girls, which is how he referred to his wife, Lynn and I.
I would like to close with a poem by
Rose de Leon called In Our Hearts.
We
thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday.
And days before that too.
We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have is memories.
And your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake.
With which we'll never part.
God has you in his keeping.
We have you in our heart.
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday.
And days before that too.
We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have is memories.
And your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake.
With which we'll never part.
God has you in his keeping.
We have you in our heart.
For tonight . . . I'm just sayin' XOXO
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