Dear family and friends, thank you so much for sharing Dad’s celebration of life today.

Who was Dad?

·             Dad believed strongly in his faith and was a devoted catholic.  His beliefs and commitment in religion got him through many hard times and importantly many good times in life.

·             As we reflect on our lives with dad, there are so many fun times and of course, some learning times. Importantly, DAD along side with MOM taught us the value of loyalty, honestly, and to work hard for both your job and for your family by how they acted.

·             Although dad worked many hours, he made unconditional sacrifices and was very committed to his family.

·             Dad would always be there to talk and listen whenever we needed him…he provided advice to us all whether we wanted it or not!

·             Dad was very kind and he selflessly gave up a lot to make sure his children were supported…he managed to take us to whatever sport or activity we were involved in.

·             Dad loved the outdoors.  He always had time to take us fishing as kids (his favorite place was L’Amble Creek) and he continued to fish right up until closing season and caught the largest trout!

·             Dad was passionate and devoted to driving a truck. He did so for over 40 years for McRae Lumber.  We will all always cherish the truck trips…“they will learn more with me in a day than anything they can teach them at school!!”.

·             We look back and think about all of our get-togethers and our conversations about politics, world events and of course hockey. We can only hope the best of his endearing qualities have been passed on to all of us as we get older

·             Dad taught us we could be successful in everything we did by working hard. He was never too busy to listen, care or lend a hand. We always knew no matter where life took us we always had dad’s love and support!

·             Dad treasured Christmas when all his kids were home and together…a tradition we will always cherish and continue over the years. A big thank-you to both Mom and Dad here!

·             Although dad lived a very humble and simplistic life, he valued the importance of hard work and was very proud of us and what we have accomplished. We are all very successful and we owe it all to him and Mom!

·             Dad understood the importance of education and he was actively on the school board at one time and he also knew it would get you a good job.

·             Thank you for instilling all your beliefs in us and in our families. We will do our very best to always live up to them as you and Mom did.

·             Dad always liked to talk about his Grandchildren and often asked how they were doing.  He was truly proud of his Grandchildren.

A few of Dad’s personal sayings:

“by geeze”

“well you must have too much money”

“what do you know now that you didn’t know yesterday”

“wehhhhh”

“tanks a lot”

“I never knew there were fish that big in Opeongo”

·             Dad was at peace at the end of his life and he said to all of us, “make sure you take care of yourself”…we will Dad, you taught us well.

·             There are so many memories from us all that not all of them can be expressed into words today…we are so blessed and grateful to have had you as our Dad.

·             And We are very proud to have had you for a dad!

o   As you would say “Don’t throw it back” keep it for count.  We will never throw back any memories and will always keep them close to our hearts.

o   Rest high on that mountain Dad…your work here is done.

Say hi to Mom and Michael in heaven from all of