How do you sum up such a beautiful life in just a few words? Impossible! But here are a few things that stand out and make me so proud and honored to call him MY DAD.
UNRELENTING LOVE & RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS – My uncle struggled with mental health later in life and decided he didn’t want to see my dad. My parents knew that he was lonely in a nursing home which was one hour drive away from their house. They started bringing cake on his birthday and cookies for Christmas. Since my uncle didn’t want to see them, they left them at the nurses desk for him. This went on for several years when something changed in my uncle one year and he cried tears of joy when they came. After that, they went often and even brought some of his friends that he hadn’t seen in years.
HARD WORK ETHIC & “CAN DO” ATTITUDE – After Brad passed away, I had this large rock that was too close to the driveway. I asked my sons to move it and they used all their muscle between them and just couldn’t budge it. Dad came over after church the next Sunday and I asked him if he could think of a way to move it. He said he could move it right then. I insisted that he wait until he had old clothes on and help. He used leverage and didn’t even get dirty. Once he moved the rock, I remembered the huge beautiful rockery he built by himself in our back yard in Fife where he made a sling and used leverage to move hundreds of much larger rocks. This rockery was the width of our house and one story high. He incorporated levels and flower beds and bench around a fire pit. It was absolutely beautiful. Before “how to” videos, he figured out how to dig his own drain field by hand and did it! He definitely wasn’t afraid of hard work. He would always put a hand towel around his neck and wouldn’t stop until it was soaked. They also added a room onto their home and he thought he’d use the wasted space underneath for a basement tool room, so he dug this out by hand, of course. So amazing!
SWEET & FUNNY – My dad had such a cute sense of humor. He would want to tell a joke but he would get started and then be laughing so hard before he got to the punch line – he would sometimes jumble it up. He loved innocent humor and would laugh so hard, his whole body would jiggle. When we would see a funny movie, we would talk about wanting to watch it with dad so we could watch him!
TRADITION – He carried on family traditions and he and mom started some of their own. My very favorite was breakfast in bed. I think this started way before my sister and I were born. When Janice and I were really young we celebrated all my uncles and aunts and cousins birthdays. The whole family would drive to the honored persons home before everyone went to work which meant 4:00 am! We would flood their bedroom with people and sing happy birthday and then have doughnuts and they would open their gifts in bed. I remember going to grandma Lovgren’s house on her birthday after my grandpa passed away, and she would get up, fix her hair, make coffee, unlock the door and then go back to bed and pretend she was asleep. We continued this tradition with our family. For Valentines day, every year, he gifted my sister and I each with a big heart shaped box of chocolates and when we became mother’s, he remembered both of us on Mother’s day with fuchsia’s.
Dad’s Christian Legacy – Dad’s father and mother both became Christian’s when my dad was pretty young. My dad went with his dad to the rescue mission and jail to share how Jesus had totally changed his life. My Grandma Lovgren was a shining example for Jesus too. After retirement, dad served at the rescue mission also.
LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS – My dad has “lived” his faith. His love for JESUS was not just superficial – It ran deep in his heart and spilled out all over in what the Bible calls fruit. This was the greatest gift that my parents gave my sister and I – to be brought up in a home where they lived this in front of us so that we could also know JESUS. So thankful.
I’m so thankful that dad had the chance to meet Liam. Two men in my life took my parents out to dinner and asked them for my hand in marriage. Dad walked me down the isle for both my first wedding to Brad in 1984 and then to Liam in 2016. I am blessed to have 3 wonderful men in my life.
Dad,
Thank you for being my strong protector and provider. Thank you for being such an amazing dad and setting such a wonderful example for us.
My heart aches for you and I truly miss you, but I know I will see you again. I LOVE YOU!
Joyce
PS – Please give Brad a huge hug from me.