This photo was taken on Father’s Day in 1961. My dad kept this on his desk for as many years as I can remember, and now it sits on mine. 

I was fortunate that I had such a close relationship with my dad – as a child I was his fishing buddy and nearly constant shadow, and as a teenager he was the one who watched Monty Python with me and was there for me when I needed to talk. After I went to bed at night, he’d often sneak pieces of candy into my purse so I’d find them at school the next day.

By the last decade of his life I was living over 500 miles away, but would still try to get home every few months to visit. The night Dad died my husband and I drove frantically all day in our aging Toyota in order to be there to say goodbye, and I’m so grateful that we got there in time for me to hold his hand as he left this world….

I still miss him every day. Happy Father’s Day, Dad!