1924~2002

A Very Special Man


The Lord looked over all the earth,
As He prepared for our coming birth
To find a father with gentle hands,
One who always understands.

A father unafraid to touch...
Or kiss or hug or love too much...
With laughing eyes, that cry with pride-
A hero, a role model, a spiritual guide.

A coach, a teacher- his daughter's first love-
God looked for these traits as He searched from above...
And in his search He found a man,
Who fit just right in His Master Plan.

With His eyes cast on you, he smiled with pride...
"Yes this is the man I will put by their side!
He'll be there to comfort, to hold them, to give...
And they'll know that he loved them
For as long as they live!"

The greatest friend a child ever had-
Was created the day God gave us our Dad!
Now, we're no longer children; we have kids of our own-
And the Lord wants you back-He's taken you home.

For the rest of our days we will miss you so much...
The sound of your voice, your laughter...your touch.
We were blessed with the life of a beautiful man...
And we look to the day we'll again take your hand.

~Colleen Whitlaw~

What characteristics make a great man? Some might say wealth, a Nobel Prize winner, a great education......just to name a few. I say those things might be good to have, but they don't necessarily make you a great man.

I would like to tell you a little about my precious Daddy. He was a great man who loved life. He was an honest man. He considered honesty and integrity to be great qualities to have. He and Mom instilled those qualities in their seven children early on in life. They also instilled in us a very strong bond for Love of Family. They were never ashamed to show their love for each other in our presence. As children, we always felt secure in knowing we were loved and in knowing our mommy and daddy loved each other. We would often see Daddy reaching for Mom for a hug and a kiss. I suppose that is one of my first memories of them.

He wasn't ashamed to show his emotions. I've seen my daddy cry many times. Most were happy tears, but some were in sorrow. I've also seen my daddy go to the woods or the barn, so he could have his special "alter of prayer". We were taught early on in life that God should be Number One in our lives.

Daddy wasn't an educated man. I don't think he even made it past the 4th grade. Back in those days, kids had to stay home and help work the fields in order to have food to eat.... That is, you did if you were poor. And his family was certainly that. Was he ever ashamed of that fact? Never! I believe that it helped mold him into the kind of man he was. It didn't take
money for him to teach us how to have fun and enjoy the simple everyday life while we were growing up. Daddy was "young at heart". He enjoyed playing our silly games with us.

He loved going to the Capuchin mountains with all
the family to camp. It was a tradition for us to all go during the 4th of July week and as the grandchildren came along, they learned to love it as much as we did. We enjoyed sitting around the campfire at nights just talking, laughing, making up stories to tell and just having a wonderful time being together.

He never acquired a lot of money or had a lot of material things.... but those things never mattered to him. All he ever wanted was to have enough to provide for his family, and he certainly did that.

We had something that money could never buy, and that made us rich. We thank God for giving us this special man for a Daddy.

Oh, my papa, to me he was so wonderful,
Oh, my papa, to me he was so good.
No one could be, so gentle and so lovable;
Oh, my papa, he always understood.

Gone are the days,
When he would take me on his knee;
And with a smile,
He'd change my tears to laughter.

Oh, my papa, so funny, so adorable;
Always the clown so funny in his way.
Oh, my papa, to me he was so wonderful,
Deep in my heart I miss him so today. 

Oh my Papa
Oh my Papa!

Created May 10, 2002