My Dad

Through my childhood I knew my Dad loved me and provided me with every luxury within his means. He was so in love with and devoted to my Mom, his family, her family and his children sat on a pedestal. In my teens, he taught me to drive well before my sixteenth birthday. One of his faults was that his car was like a landfill. We called it the "Dog Bed". He told me I was beautiful and perfect when I screwed up more than a few times.

My Dad was always an ultimate fan of the Carolina Tarheels until the day I married a man who was about to graduate from NCSU. From that day forward there was nothing better than the Wolfpack. I hope he knows that his cherished grandchildren are now grads.

When we gave my Dad his first grandchild, he bought a video camera the size of a toaster oven and recorded every move our son made. When we moved to another state when this baby was 9 months old and we came home to visit, my Dad would greet us as we pulled into the driveway, snatch our son, go back into the house, shut the door while my husband and I unloaded the car.

Our daughter was born during our six years in Richmond, Va. My Dad and Mom made the three hour drive at least once a month to be with our babies. When we were transfered back to NC when our babies were 4 and 6. My Dad made up for lost time.

Everytime my husband and I wanted to go out Grandpa and MaGaw were ready, willing and able to take care of our children. They were at every soccer game, school event and recital. They made their holidays magical.

When our son showed an early interest in golf, Grandpa was determined to make him the next Tiger Woods and they played golf all the time. Kind of glad he didn't live to see this disappointment aka Tiger.......Our daughter developed a passion for Beanie Babies and they all went to Canada to find "Maple". My Dad and Mom were with our children in NYC in '99....the Yankees achieved something amazing and JFK Jr. died that weekend. Such a memorable trip.

My Dad died way too young at 67. This came just six weeks after he played golf with our son and watched our daughter's piano recital. Everyone he loved was in the room when he took his last breath. At his wishes, he was not laid out for people to comment on how good he looked. Come on, how good can you look when you are dead? He was not lowered into the ground but sprinkled on his favorite golf course. My Dad died with such dignity and it somehow helped us with our loss.

I love you Daddy!