My dad was one of the most incredible people I’ve ever known and I am here to try my best to honor him today. In the words of another…..I am giving a speech I have never wanted to give and feeling a loss I have never wanted to feel.

I picture my dad arriving in heaven, running and leaping like a young boy coming home from school - running to hug his momma, Aunt Max and his mother-in-law, Wilma and then raising a toast with his shipmates Russ, Doug and Joe.

Caroll Lee Weedman was born on April 18th, 1944 and was taken from us much too soon on January 31st.

He was born in the tiny mountain town of Lawson Colorado

Where he grew up and started school, moving to Georgetown for a couple years and finishing out his school years in Golden.

At the young age of 17 he joined the Navy where he grew up, gained a new family and discovered his love for this country

He found his way back to the girl he met in Georgetown during the 4th grade and he married my mom, Rosalie on May 7, 1966. They shared 55 long and happy years together and had 2 daughters, my younger sister Candice and me.

After his active duty he joined the naval reserves, serving for 25 years to train others and keep our country safe. He was an Iron Worker for 10 years honing his skills in building things and then moved onto a career he loved at the USGS becoming a cartographer and finally retiring in 2004.

If you didn’t know my dad you might see him as a quiet, aging baby boomer, a Navy veteran who was behind the times when it came to technology.

For those of us who were lucky enough to know him, we saw his kindness, grace, generosity, humor, and his love.

We saw:

A son who loved his mother fiercely.

A brother who would love you to the ends of the earth and help whenever asked.

A husband who might track in fresh cut grass all over your clean floor, but then would sweep you off your feet with his ‘Elvis-like’ good looks, a dance and his smile

A dad who would teach you the value of hard work and respect, and also how to have fun, sing, dance, enjoy life and love generously

We knew:

A navy veteran who loved God, his country and his shipmates

A shipmate and friend that became your brother and would always be there when needed - in good times and in bad

A co-worker who was hard working and dependable, but also a friend that enjoyed a good laugh

He became:

A father-in-law who would adopt you and love you as his own once you got past the frightful event of asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage

An in-law who became a fast friend and vacation partner

And the best part of him came as a grandfather. He loved his 5 grandchildren: Parker, Courtney, Madighan, Kinzley and Killian - they brought out the best in him. He loved them with his whole heart. He was always ready to play - fixing a pretend boat, having a princess tea party, telling stories, offering hugs, and being their biggest fan in the world

If you really knew Weed, you knew his garage was his ‘true’ office. His creativity and design skills for all things kept us in awe, From decks, to pergolas to outdoor bars and rustic wood flags. He would imagine it, draw it, plan it and build it. I remember him reminding me how to use the Pythagorean theorem when we were building a deck in my backyard-his message..see studying math was good… Or the time he saw some outdoor bar stools on vacation, came back home and recreated them just from a picture.

One of my most vivid childhood memories is from that garage - I remember the chore of sweeping up the sawdust for him. At the time it seemed like a burdensome chore, meant only to keep me from some other ‘fun’ activity. But I now know, it was an activity he created to have me or my sister near him. I would listen to him whistle to the song on his transistor radio, watch him measure and cut boards and take screws out of an old coffee cans, and use tools he meticulously replaced.

That garage was my dad. The smell of sawdust immediately takes me back to that time, to that garage and back to his love.

Dad enjoyed playing golf when he could - coveting the day he made a hole in one. He loved cheering on the local sport teams (win or lose) and there was never a party he didn’t like.

But his favorite activity was doing anything with family and friends.

Parties, Dinners, cookouts, camping, and if he had to - even going to the nutcracker ballet - but only once. As a child I remember friends and family being the center of all we did and Dad made sure my sister and I were part of every gathering.

His friends became our extended family and our families grew together. Even when I traveled with him, I got to see him make fast friends with complete strangers - that was the beauty of his kindness.

And that kindness reminds me of ‘making the rounds’ to various houses on Christmas Eve. Stopping in to wish friends and family a Merry Christmas. It was a time of year that I always looked forward to because I felt the generosity and love he had for everyone.

It is what I admired about him the most.

I can’t help but think Dad’s life being a parallel to some of our early family vacations. See, we didn’t fly. We would pack luggage and snacks and pile into our car headed for Disneyland. But getting to that destination involved long days of driving, detours, pitstops and finding a motel with a pool to stay for the night before getting back into the car for another long day of driving.

I always wished we could simply fly so that we would get to Disneyland quicker. But then, I would have missed the best part……the journey.

Life is like those car rides. It is the journey with our Dad that we will remember the most. Dad’s laughter, our tears, the snacks we shared, the detours we all took, the games he played, the discussions we had, the songs he sang, the stops he made along the way to give his family better view. And most importantly, the feeling of diving fearlessly into the the deep end of the swimming pool called life because I knew my dad would always be there to catch me. He has always been my hero.

I will miss so many things, but the little things are hitting me the most….I will think of Dad every time I drink a cup of tea, roll the dice at the craps table, watch my columbines bloom, see an American flag fly or hear an Elvis song. Just to name a few

Romans 12:15 reminds us to cry and to grieve together:

Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep

Dad - thank you for everything you have given us in this life. I love you and I will miss talking to you, listening to your stories and hearing your laugh. As we say goodbye for now, know that your kindness, your grace, your smile, and your love will live on in all of us. Don’t worry, we will take good care of mom who will always be your Rose among the Weeds……And I cannot wait to hug you again

Goodbye Dad and God bless you.

I’d again like to thank you all for being here as we say goodbye. I also want to thank Ft Logan, the Navy, Denver Hospice, the doctors and especially the nurses who helped care for my dad and everyone who has given us support over the last several weeks.

As we close Killian, my nephew and one of Caroll’s grandsons, is going to share a reading from the bible- Psalm 23.

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