Dad

Dad
1922 - 2012

It’s the easiest thing in the world to father a child and yet, it takes so much more to be a dad. But my dad had that dad-thing all figured out. He loved us with an unwavering, unconditional love. He made us feel safe in a world that is anything but safe. He taught us the basics of bike riding and swimming, but more importantly, he showed us, by example, what it means to be a man. It’s through that example, I am sure, that I chose so well in the husband department. A good choice and a little bit of good luck, too, I guess.

Dad taught us about keeping your word and working hard but he also showed us that life is not all about drudgery. He retired from his civil service career after 30-some years of service when he was only 57. He was never bored; he had many interests … cooking, finance, construction, books. You name it and Dad was interested in it. In the end, he had about the same number of years in retirement as he did working. He showed us life is a balance of work and play.

And Dad never forgot how to play. He had a great sense of fun and he remembered what it was like to be a kid. When I was about 10, Dad had an unexpected windfall … a mortgage he’d held was repaid early. He came up with the idea that we’d play a game he called Heart’s Desire. He came to my younger brother and me, and gave us each a crisp, new, ten-dollar bill. He told us we could spend it however we liked. I remember thinking it was an awful lot of money. What fun we had debating what to spend it on. Looking back, I can’t even recall what I bought but I do remember the pleasure we had and the pleasure Dad took in making us happy.

He was our father but more importantly, he was a great dad.

~ Cheryl Coville, August 1, 2012