It is difficult, at best, to stand before you and attempt to honor my father in words. It is never an easy task to capture someone in a speech, as words frequently fall short of capturing someone’s true essence. In this instance, they fall so far below the mark that I feel it is almost futile to try. So instead of making an attempt, I am going to ask each of us gathered here to sit in silence for a moment and remember something about this man who touched each of our lives in so many ways. (pause) As I look out into the church, I see both smiles and tears. The tears, although there have been many tears of sadness in the past few days since we lost my father, are not tears of sadness as you sit here and remember. They are tears of joy, intermingled with nostalgic smiles, for the way this man has left a permanent mark on your minds, hearts, and souls. I see my father’s grandchildren remembering Saturday afternoon trips to the ice cream shop and then to the toy store, and how we, their unfortunate parents, would shake our heads as our homes gained yet another doll, set of blocks, or other toy our child just had to have and Grandpa just had to buy. I see my brothers and sisters, each of us remembering how Dad would check the mileage every time we drove the car, to see if it matched up with the destination we had given him when we borrowed it. I see us all together in the pool, Dad patiently teaching us how to swim and then, on fall days, I see us all at the park, with Dad once again showing extreme patience as he taught us to ride bikes. My father’s friends have their own private memories of Dad—not as a father, but as a fun-loving young adult who once drove cross country in a Volkswagen Beetle, who once drove to Canada “just because” it was there, and who was always the first friend to arrive at a party, smiles and laughter pouring out of him. And my mother…my mother has the most treasured memories of any of us, but they belong to her alone. None of us knew or loved or treasured my dad as she did and so, today, we give you your memories to hold in the privacy of your heart, Mom. Be selfish and keep them for you alone. I do know that somewhere, in the vastness of whatever lies beyond, my dad is smiling down at us and wishing us well. We love you, Dad. Downloaded from http://www.wikihow.com