Hi everyone, thank you for being here today to celebrate the life of my father John. I want to start by saying I’m not much of a public speaker, but this is now the second time I’ve stood before people to talk about someone I loved. About 2 years ago, I spoke about my late grandma at her memorial, a speech my dad was in the crowd listening to. It feels strange to be making my second speech today about my dad.

I cherished my dad - losing him has truly been the greatest hardship I’ve ever experienced. And while I cherished him while he was still here, I don’t think I could’ve ever been prepared for how different my life would feel without the presence of my father’s love anymore. Through the pain I’ve felt during this last month, I’ve realized how lucky I am to have loved my dad so much that his absence can be felt with every fibre of my being. Only the best of dads can have that kind of effect.

My earliest memories I have with my dad are sitting on his lap while he mowed the backyard.... Read more I remember feeling so important and special when he would ask if I wanted to help him mow the lawn, just the two of us atop his lawn mower making calculated circles around the backyard. Growing up, I remember my dad always telling me “Buckle up, Buttercup” every time we got in the car. It was in that same car that my dad would introduce me to 80s hits and quickly form my lifelong love of 80s music. Fast forward a few years and I remember watching a meteor shower together during 4th of July one year from the roof of a boat on Lake Travis. In-between waiting for falling stars to appear, my dad would patiently point out different constellations in the sky to me - he was a true lover of astronomy and always made time to teach me about it. I’ll forever look up to the night sky and find my father’s memory etched into the stars.

Everything reminds me of my dad. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that he was one of the biggest supporters of me and my siblings’ hobbies and interests, meaning he inserted himself into so many of the things we loved doing. When my siblings and I were all on the same summer league swim team growing up, my dad became the President of the swim team for several years. When my brother got into speed skating, my dad attended every practice and drove him to out-of-state skate meets, cheering him on during every race. When I started doing acro yoga, my dad would show up to Friday night acro yoga sessions just to watch from the sidelines and spend that time with me from afar. When my sister wanted to get into gardening, my dad asked “what do you need and how can I help?” without hesitation in order to support her new interest. Now, whenever I do the things I love, I’ll do them while being reminded of how much my dad supported and loved me in everything I did.

My siblings and me were our dad’s whole world. To us, he’s half of who each of us are today. We collectively have our dad’s sense of humor, his intelligence, his giving nature, and his devotedness. To lose him is to lose a piece of ourselves that can never be found again, but so much of him lives on in the three of us.

Dad, thank you for making me feel so unquestionably loved by you. I will miss you more than I can ever comprehend and I will keep on loving you endlessly.

Thank you. Read less

Hi everyone, thank you for being here today to celebrate the life of my father John. I want to start by saying I’m not much of a public speaker, but this is now the second time I’ve stood before people to talk about someone I loved. About 2 years ago, I spoke about my late grandma at her memorial, a speech my dad was in the crowd listening to. It feels strange to be making my second speech today about my dad.

I cherished my dad - losing him has truly been the greatest hardship I’ve ever experienced.... Read more And while I cherished him while he was still here, I don’t think I could’ve ever been prepared for how different my life would feel without the presence of my father’s love anymore. Through the pain I’ve felt during this last month, I’ve realized how lucky I am to have loved my dad so much that his absence can be felt with every fibre of my being. Only the best of dads can have that kind of effect.

My earliest memories I have with my dad are sitting on his lap while he mowed the backyard. I remember feeling so important and special when he would ask if I wanted to help him mow the lawn, just the two of us atop his lawn mower making calculated circles around the backyard. Growing up, I remember my dad always telling me “Buckle up, Buttercup” every time we got in the car. It was in that same car that my dad would introduce me to 80s hits and quickly form my lifelong love of 80s music. Fast forward a few years and I remember watching a meteor shower together during 4th of July one year from the roof of a boat on Lake Travis. In-between waiting for falling stars to appear, my dad would patiently point out different constellations in the sky to me - he was a true lover of astronomy and always made time to teach me about it. I’ll forever look up to the night sky and find my father’s memory etched into the stars.

Everything reminds me of my dad. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that he was one of the biggest supporters of me and my siblings’ hobbies and interests, meaning he inserted himself into so many of the things we loved doing. When my siblings and I were all on the same summer league swim team growing up, my dad became the President of the swim team for several years. When my brother got into speed skating, my dad attended every practice and drove him to out-of-state skate meets, cheering him on during every race. When I started doing acro yoga, my dad would show up to Friday night acro yoga sessions just to watch from the sidelines and spend that time with me from afar. When my sister wanted to get into gardening, my dad asked “what do you need and how can I help?” without hesitation in order to support her new interest. Now, whenever I do the things I love, I’ll do them while being reminded of how much my dad supported and loved me in everything I did.

My siblings and me were our dad’s whole world. To us, he’s half of who each of us are today. We collectively have our dad’s sense of humor, his intelligence, his giving nature, and his devotedness. To lose him is to lose a piece of ourselves that can never be found again, but so much of him lives on in the three of us.

Dad, thank you for making me feel so unquestionably loved by you. I will miss you more than I can ever comprehend and I will keep on loving you endlessly.

Thank you. Read less