Mitch's tribute to his dad

Growing up, I remember that he was always there.  Having lost his own Dad at a young age, I think it was very important to him to be invested & present in the lives of me and Mike.  There was never a question of his commitment to us.  Mike and I were not spoiled with material things, but my Dad ensured that we were never deprived of opportunities.  Every summer, when the school year ended, my Dad worked for the school district.  As a kid, I did not really think too much of it.  However, looking back, I now realize he did it in order to provide additional income for his family and ensure that Mike and I were able to attend basketball camps and have other experiences that otherwise would not have been possible.  He never complained about working so hard for us.  

I loved my Dad growing up, but my Dad took seriously his role of Father, so it was more of a teacher-student relationship.  Once I was grown, that relationship transitioned into a strong friendship.  And while I loved him for being a Dad, I took the greatest joy in watching him be a Grandpa to my kids - he was awesome at it and this will undoubtedly be what I miss most and, if I am to be truly honest, what sometimes makes me question God's purpose in it all.  I wanted him to be able to watch my kids grow up and come to their athletic/school events, watch them graduate from high school, watch them get married, and watch them have families of their own.  Oh, how he would have loved to see it all and be a part of it! 

Some of my Dad's character qualities included:  humble; genuine; a deep-thinker and very analytical; honest and always seeking to take the moral high road; extremely loyal (to his wife, family, and friends); straight-forward; hard working; unassuming - never in search of accolades or recognition.

In terms of Christ in his life, it was not so much specific incidences or grand "religious displays" that showed me that Christ lived in him - my Dad was not one to draw attention to himself.  Rather, it was his overall approach to life that showed me his commitment to Jesus.  While he was faithful in making sure that his family regularly attended church, he backed up this outward display of his faith by consistently having quiet time to read his Bible and pray.  For me personally, the greatest indicator of Christ being present in his life was his willingness to help others, including me.  My dad made numerous trips to Portland to help me when I was renovating our house there.  On one occasion, it was getting toward evening when my Dad finally left to drive the five hours back to Medford from Portland after having helped me on some project.  I remember getting a call from him saying that he had bought a pizza for me and Cristin and that it would be delivered shortly.  He still had hours of driving ahead of him and had already given his time to me, but he was still thinking of ways to help me. 

In terms of memories, I know I am forgetting many, but here are a few that come to mind and make me smile:

1.  My Dad was careful with money and did not like to waste it.  So when we would go out to eat, we generally had water with our meal rather than drinks.  One time we went to Pietro's Pizza in Medford for dinner.  As we sat at our table with our water, my Dad noticed the group next to us left a full pitcher untouched.  He went over and grabbed it and poured himself a glass to "test" it.  For some reason, after the test taste, Mike and I never got a glass.  I guess it wasn't root beer:). 

2.  My Dad would take me and Mike to Bear Creek Park to play football on the tennis courts.  He was the "all-time" quarterback and Mike and I would take turns playing offense and defense.  He also spent lots of time in the backyard throwing passes to us. 

3.  My Dad was a runner, and I would sometimes go with him as a little kid.  Being slightly competitive, I would not just run beside him - I would try to keep a half-step ahead of him.  Obviously, this was annoying to him.  One day, he had had enough of this and started running at a pace that I could not keep up with and left me behind - he proved his point:). 

4.  In later years, Dad helped me on several of my home renovation projects - these are some of my greatest memories with him.  On one occasion, I was putting in a concrete retaining wall.  The cement truck was coming early the next morning to pour the cement, so my Dad and I were frantically working to get all of the forms set in place for the pour.  My Dad was not a night person, but we stayed up until 3 am getting it all done - I'm thinking that is the latest he had ever stayed up, but you would have to verify that with my Mom, and if you do, I don't want to know about it:).

5.  I guess one of my fondest memories is just knowing that he was always there for all of my activities.  When I looked up in the stands at my basketball games growing up, the question never was whether or not he would be there - it was simply a question of where he and Mom were sitting.  The number of miles he logged driving to watch Mike and I participate in various activities is well into the 1000's.  He was not vocal at our events, just the solid, ever-present rock, quietly showing his love and support for his sons.  I remember my Senior year of basketball, when I would have a home game, he would sit patiently for me after the game and ride home with me.