Each year the world says good-bye to individuals who have gained great notoriety. In the past year or so we have said good-bye to people like Mother Theresa, and Cardinal Bernadin. These were people who’s accomplishments were greatly publicized, widely known, and highly respected. Mother Theresa brought comfort to poor unfortunates, who, through no fault of their own, were born into hardship and poverty. And the sainted Cardinal Bernadin first taught us how to live, and then taught us how to die. We look at these individuals as people who had great impact on large numbers of people. We look at these people as someone to be emulated. We look at these people as heroes.
Each year we also say good-bye to a great number of people who do not have the notoriety of a Cardinal Bernadin or a Mother Theresa. Their accomplishments are not widely publicized. Their loss does not impact millions of people. The world does not confer “hero” status on these individuals. Today we have come to say good-bye to one of those people. Today we have come to say good-bye to Bill Slupik. Yes, my father’s passing into glory will certainly be felt by my family, and those assembled here today, and perhaps some others who could not be here with us. But there will be no newspaper headlines proclaiming and lamenting his death. There will be no eulogies by presidents or popes. The world will not confer “Hero” status on my father.
And that’s really unfortunate. Perhaps the words that best describe this injustice come from the chorus of a song. The chorus says:
"Heroes come in every shape and size. They make special sacrifices for others in their lives. No one gives them medals, the world don’t know their name. But in someone’s eyes, they're heroes just the same."
I learned, just about 20 years ago, that parenthood does not come with a manual. Parenting a child in today’s world is not an easy task. And as hard as we may try, we sometimes fail, and we sometimes make mistakes. I’m sure that if Dad were standing here next to me today, he would agree with me. Who among us would not admit to failings born out of our humanity, our imperfection. But we also have our successes. Our successes are imbedded in the legacy we leave behind us. Dad was no exception. First of all, he, along with Mom, affected eternity by having me baptized into faith in Christ Jesus. This is a gift for which I can never thank them enough. But there’s more. Dad taught me perseverance. “Anything is possible,” he used to tell me, “if you only take the time to understand it.” And that was a legacy he received from his father. He gave me a keen appreciation of all types of music. And he taught me to always be proud of who I am. Pretty good work for a guy who was working without a manual. And yet he never earned one newspaper headline, and he never made the 10:00 news.
So, you see, by the words of that song, he does qualify.
"No one gives them medals, the world don’t know their name. But in someone’s eyes, they're heroes just the same."
You see, you have come here today to say good-bye to a hero. My hero. My dad.