I was just reading a tribute I wrote about my dad four years ago just a couple days after he died and it goes like this.............
My dad was the most thoughtful, loving, caring, generous man I have ever known. His heart was bigger than the sun. There was nothing he wouldn't do for those he loved.
I have always known my dad was brave, strong, determined and very courageous, but I never knew how much until after his aneurysm nine years ago. He proved the doctors wrong when he worked hard and became a strong healthy man again. Even though he lived the last nine years in a body that only worked half way, he NEVER complained and it didn't stop him from accomplishing so many things. My dad has been a true inspiration to me and so many others.
For someone who said he couldn't talk, he sure got his point across well. We would talk for hours and so would many others. He even led people to the Lord! Praise God! He could hardly speak, yet, he was leading people to God. That is a miracle!
I have watched my dad's relationship with the Lord grow so strong these past nine years. God was always by his side and always knew what he was saying. My dad found great comfort in the Lord. In the end, when my dad became very confused, I noticed he never once forgot to pray before he ate. My dad was always praying. In the end, he prayed not for himself, but for his family to be okay through all of this. He was always thinking of his family.
This picture of my dad was taken driving to his last radiation treatment. I arrived to his house that morning to find him sore and exhausted, his hair coming out by the handfuls. Yet, as you can see, he never let it get him down. We joked about his hair on the way, and I said I had to get a picture, he laughed and gave me a huge smile. He was never angry about the cancer; it seemed to make him praise God even more. He said he was thankful to God for giving him nine borrowed years to get to see all his grandchildren and make memories with them. He went to be with the Lord two weeks after this picture was taken.
We are so happy for him now. He has a new body and is sooo happy, but we will miss him terribly. We will miss his great sense of humor and we will, especially, miss hearing him say his catch phrase: "Ooohhh, well!"
I would like to thank my mother for the loving care she gave my dad. She made the last nine years wonderful for him, and I will be forever grateful. She is truly an angel. My dad loved her so much.
I will try every day to be just like my dad. He has changed the lives of so many and will continue to do so for years to come.
Thank you dad. I love you.
Your daughter,
Nicki
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