Farewell To My Father…

My father recently passed at the ripe age of 85 and I want to take a few moments to reflect on his life and how grateful I am for him.

Reflections On My Dear Father

My dad, Ronald, was born at the tail-end of the Great Depression, just months before Nazi Germany invaded Poland, the Moltov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed, and the Manhattan Project began. 

He witnessed so much over his lifetime but what I witnessed was a man of integrity, character, faith, and perseverance.

My father grew up in Chicago, but moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s to attend UCLA (a university I would later attend as well). He studied math and began teaching in the early 1960s, then spent the next 45 years teaching subjects ranging from algebra to calculus.

He taught at the public high school in our town and also at the community college. I’m amazed at the remarkable discipline and patience he had; not just with my brother and me, but also with his students. As the father of two myself, I see now more than ever just how remarkable his character was in remaining calm even when life went sideways.

He was a quiet man. An emotional man. A selfless man. Rather than indulge himself, he gave his money away…to charity, to friends and family in need, and to my mother, brother, and me.

Instead of going out with the boys at night, he was home every night and invested hours in helping me (try to) understand math (never my strong subject) and spending time reading and in prayer.

My father’s decline was somewhat gradual and I sensed last year that while he was still healthy and able to travel, it might be his last trip. We had an amazing time in Washington, DC together and I am so very thankful for that trip. It ultimately was his last major trip. His last flight.

> Read More: A Father-Son Trip To Washington, DC

At age seven, my father lost his own dad to a heart attack. I’m thankful I had 30 extra years with mine and that my son had seven years with his grandfather.

Today, I’ll be offline the rest of the day at his memorial service, which I hope will bring honor to him and to the God he placed his faith in.

If your father is still alive, tell him how much you love him. I am thankful I have no regrets with mine: we enjoyed a remarkable relationship and he was the kind of man I still aspire to be.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” -John 11:25-26