Recently, my dad passed away. I was tasked with writing the obituary. It was at the same time the best and worst thing I’ve ever had to write. When I asked my mom to proofread it (she’s the best proofreader I’ve ever seen, btw) she came to a particular word and looked up at me. Pointing to the incorrect grammar she smiled and said, “I hope the ‘s’ was intentional.” It was. You see, my dad came into our lives when I was 5. He didn’t marry just my mom; he also became an instant dad to three little girls. We were the loves of his life.
Today I wanted to share what I said at his memorial service:
If anyone ever asks me about what kind of man my dad was, Philippians 2:3 sums him up perfectly: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourself.”
All week long, as people have been coming by the house, they have been sharing stories about Dad and some of the ways he has touched their lives. Most of them are stories I’d never heard – which was just like him. Never saying much about himself or bragging about what he’d done.
Back in 1975 he touched the lives of a broken woman and her little girls who had just lost their dad. He was a ranch hand at my mom’s friend’s place and helped us move in. He even set up my baby sister’s crib. I was terrified of him because he was so tall (6’4”) and I’d never seen a man with a beard before.
He won me over, though, by playing his guitar and singing “Puff the Magic Dragon”. I don’t know how many times I asked him to sing it for me.
I don’t remember this, but Mom says that my older sister and I asked her if we could keep him. What I do remember is the day he and Mom sat us down in the living room and he asked us if it was OK for him to marry our mom. I still get butterflies inside when I think about it.
So we did get to keep him after all and I’m proud to be able to call him my dad.