... a time for every purpose under Heaven...
It's been two years since he's been gone...
My dad.. my hero..
... who received the Purple Heart during WWII
while serving with the Timberwolves, 104th Infantry,
and who was buried with military funeral honors.
and who was buried with military funeral honors.
The most surreal moment of dad's service was when the bugler went a distance away,
out of sight, to play Taps. I don't think I've ever had so many emotions playing out at one
time and I don't think I've ever heard another melody so solemn, so profound, so emotional or so moving...
After the service, a gentle August breeze came through the cemetery and these wind chimes, hanging from a nearby tree, softly serenaded us as we left the graveside service.
I've been enjoying my evening walks now that the heat and humidity has disappeared from the northeast...
... and one of my favorite places to unwind and walk is in the cemetery.
Naturally, my dad is never far from my thoughts on these walks. Since I'm writing a short blog post and not a book, I'll just throw out a few words or phrases that are synonymous with my dad.
Patriotic.
Loyal.
Polish Catholic.
Daily Prayers of Thanks.
Daily Rosary.
Daily Mass.
Great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus.
Compassionate.
Gentle.
Generous.
Kind.
Charitable.
Soft spoken.
Never left home without wearing a scapular (or two)...
... and carrying a pocket full of prayer cards in his shirt.
Devoted to Mom (who we lost in 1996)...
The kindest green eyes (so he could see like a cat at night! he'd tell us)...
... hard worker ... entrepreneur ... self-made ... a simple man of modest means ...
The fastest typist I've ever known (on a manual, no less)...
A trucker, who enjoyed nothing more than getting into his Ford pickup truck with his coupons and hitting all the supermarkets for the best deals.
A cat lover...
... a dog lover...
(saying goodbye to his buddy, our Mr. O'Malley, after the vet said no more could be done)
... and an all around animal lover.
A jokester...
... who loved his family more than words can express...
To quote your favorite term of endearment, Dad...
"I love you very dearly."
You are missed every day.
You are my hero.
How I wish I had told you that, and so much more, every day that you were here.
Always and forever,
your Little Girl, your Donna Doo, your Ducky
COMMENT UPDATE: I have been visiting all of you to thank you for your kind, sweet words about my wonderful dad. Many of you do not have blogs so I hope you see this heartfelt thank you for all of the comments you have left. Thank you from the bottom of my heart... Donna
COMMENT UPDATE: I have been visiting all of you to thank you for your kind, sweet words about my wonderful dad. Many of you do not have blogs so I hope you see this heartfelt thank you for all of the comments you have left. Thank you from the bottom of my heart... Donna
16 comments:
Oh Donna,
This is such a beautiful and touching tribute to your dad. Ths post really choked me up. My eyes are filled with tears. I bet he knew how much you loved him. The last pictures of him in his elder years with his dog are do sweet. My stepdad served as a medica in WWWII and received a Purple Heart. He was polish Catholic too. Unfortunately, he never got over all the attrocities of the war. He served in Japan, France and Germany and he became an alocholic. I understand his pain. This is really a lovely tribute to your dad. Your mom and dad looked like a beautiful couple and I love that you still have their vintage wedding cake topper.
Oh Donna,
This is such a beautiful and touching tribute to your dad. Ths post really choked me up. My eyes are filled with tears. I bet he knew how much you loved him. The last pictures of him in his elder years with his dog are do sweet. My stepdad served as a medica in WWWII and received a Purple Heart. He was polish Catholic too. Unfortunately, he never got over all the attrocities of the war. He served in Japan, France and Germany and he became an alocholic. I understand his pain. This is really a lovely tribute to your dad. Your mom and dad looked like a beautiful couple and I love that you still have their vintage wedding cake topper.
A beautiful tribute to your Dad, a very special man.
Oh that was such a touching story. Great pictures, meaningful, loving and thoughtful. My dad and yours sound very much alike. I lost Dad last December - he was also a WWII veteran.
I have just found your Blog and I dearly love your Blog. I love looking at all of your Photos. They are so precious.
I am now a follower of your Blog.
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Your Blog is really awesome :)
Take care
What a beautiful tribute to your dad...brought tears to my eyes.
Such a touching tribute to your Dad. I lost my parents 19 years ago to the day. I miss them so much. There are always things around that remind me of them so they are somewhat close still. Just carry on his legacy and he will live on!
Oh, Donna. What a beautiful and touching post. You have a magical way of writing and the pictures add perfectly to the story. I have tears streaming down my face. Taps always gets me. You are awesome. Your Dad is with your Mom and they are watching over you with love and pride from Heaven Above.
Oh Donna. That was such a beautiful post. My eyes are filled with tears!
Your Daddy would be so happy to read that.
My mother and her parents were all Polish, too!
Your Daddy sounded like such a kind, lovely man.
Your photos were super, too. Just gorgeous.
May he rest in eternal peace in the arms of our Lord and the Blessed Mother. Susan
Oh Donna, what a touching and heart felt post. Thanks for giving us a little glimpse of your father and who he was. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Gina
So sweet and I would like to add "friend to the chipmunks" because I loved your pictures of him with them. They trusted him totally.
Donna,
Thank you so much for sharing your memories with us. Your post was very touching. What a great dad you had. A beautiful tribute for sure.
What a lovely, very special, and loving tribute to your beloved Father. I also lost my loving Father, 5 years ago, and not a day goes by that I don't think of him,and my wonderful Mother, and wish I had told them more often just how much I loved them both.
But, I have no doubt at all, that your Dad knew just how much you cared for him, and still knows it.....
This beautiful tribute made me cry! Such a gentle soul he must have been. I will always remember the chip whisperer post of yours and just thought of it a few short days ago. God bless you, sweetie.
Beautiful words and beautiful Dad. I am sure he knew how much he was loved and revered...a parent knows.
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