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I posted this in another thread and thought I’d share it here...

My Father passed away in 2017, This is the best I could do to honor his memory when asked to eulogize him.

My Dad is a good man and a great father. Early on in my life he was very interactive and hands on. He was very loving, encouraging and caring. He taught me so much. Never left us “Needing anything” as he provided what was necessary.

I have numerous fond memories with my dad. From sitting with him in his favorite recliner as a small boy, Drive in movies, family vacations every summer and very spirited Christmas’s. Christmas was his favorite holiday. Lots of lights and decorations. I’d sneak into his car on an occasion or two when I was small so that I could go to work with him. He was mad, but kept me with him for the entire shift. We even hunted birds in the airport (they infested the inside and out, it was bad) He even found a cat at the airport, caught it and brought it home ‘Tuffy’ was with us for at least another 10 years. I started going hunting with him when I was 10, we had numerous adventures from camping out on hunting trips that ended in disaster from mild temps to freezing rain & snow and not to mention an occasional heart attack. When I was an early teen, He brought me to work so I can see what it was like to have a job. I think he fired me 10 times that day. He was world renowned in his line of work and was given numerous awards for his service and attention to detail and even worked Air Force One & press Charters before the advent of the current 747, which he was consulted on that as well. People knew him from all over the world and wanted him working their flights.

When I told him I was going into the Army, he was a very supportive and encouraging. When I started to work at the airport, we commuted together when we could. I even worked contracts in which dad was working for me, that was fun. He loved a good joke and saved most of the ones that were passed around before email became the prominent form of passing them around. His sense of humor was usually on the more ‘offensive’ side, but still rather enjoyable. We bowled together and confided in each other. We would even enjoy an occasional cigar and shot of whiskey during our ‘hunting’ adventures.

Once I moved on and out, his continued support never wavered.

I took my parents to Australia back in the late 90’s, it was a trip of a lifetime. We also considered staying there. We had planned several other international trips, to Ireland, Germany, Tasmania and New Zealand but they fell through after illnesses, injuries and other tragic events.

When I first introduced him to my future wife, I told him it was my 14 yr old girlfriend. He looked at her and laughed. After talking with her for a bit, he pulled me aside and stated that “she’s the one” He knew from the very first time he met her. I had known myself and plans were in the works. Through his advice and wise counsel, I had already had a home built and was in a stable position to get married and start a family. This started out another round of comedy between us. When I got married, we spent our honeymoon with dad & mom at a well known Lighthouse, the time spent there will forever be in memory. Each pregnancy my wife had (8 kids) I would devise another ‘scheme’ to announce our next arrival. It was everything from, “something wrong with the water in West Virginia” to sending a poem inserted in a calendar, which they still have. I had lots of fun with dad and he had his share of fun with us. When unfortunate circumstances would strike, he was always there for support, compassion, questions, options and circumstances. My parents were always there for each and every child, each every milestone as well as each and every set back. It didn’t matter if it was for heart surgery for our daughter, me getting hit by a truck or anything else.

When I started my career he reminded me of one of the more important things he would tell me as ‘life guidance’, “Always do whats right, in spite of what’s popular” I try to live by this both personally and professionally. It is advice and counsel I tell my children. He left me with a wealth of wisdom and sayings that I too will pass on to my children.

His support of me and my decisions as well as my family were flawless and never-ending. Even though he tried to dissuade certain decisions, he encouraged others. I was never left feeling ‘alone’ as he was always a phone call away. We had an agreement when I was a teenager that if I truly made a poor decision or ended up someplace I knew was bad and wanted an ‘out’ I could call him and he would pick me up with “no questions asked until the next day”. He also taught me to learn from failure, though less than desired, it was important to learn from mistakes as well as learning coping skills. I was far from perfect and as little as a few weeks ago called for advice and counsel.

I started calling him “Pops” when I was in the Army, my children call him Pap-Pap. He was even referred to once as Papa T. A name I have been recently been referred to as well. By any name he will always be Dad, Leader of the family, Patriarch, Mentor, Father. We love him and will miss him greatly but our memories of him will live on.