My dad was a remarkable man! He had a life as multi-faceted as the Hope Diamond, as large as the sky he flew in and as deep as the gulf he fished.

He touched many people in many ways.

• Whether you knew my dad as a scrappy kid growing up here Pensacola helping his brothers grease the old trolley tracks for fun,
• served with him in his Naval Air Group in World War - Twice - (as he called it),
• matriculated with him at the University of Florida, home of his beloved gators,
• worked with him taming the sweltering sandbar of Florida with air conditioning,
• paraded with him in the Krewe of Lafitte
• volunteered with him in the Elks,
• attended his church and were part of his faith walk and bible study,
• were part of his first or second families,

you all were incorporated into the fabric of his life and he loved and appreciated each of you dearly. My dad intrinsically knew that all of life is about relationships and he prized each your friendships above mere gold or sliver.

Yes, my dad was a remarkable man, like some sort of philosopher- fisherman, he used to spin little jewels like “son you might not be what you think you are; but what you think – you are!” or just last week he said with the excitement of my niece Kylie telling me a secret “hey, most people think you have a soul; but, you know what? – you don’t have a soul! – Instead, you have a body - YOU ARE a soul!”

My dad often told me that neither he nor his brothers ever expected to come home from World War II and that everyday – EVERYDAY since then was a bonus. Sixty plus years of bonus days – that’s one heck of a lot of bonus days. And, I know he was thankful for each and every one of those days. As a matter of fact, I am sure that, if he were here today, right now - he would remind us that everyday is bonus day – a gift from God - please use yours accordingly.

Yea my dad was a remarkable man, and as he grew to have a deep and abiding faith in Christ, he understood that the purpose of this life is to prepare us for the next life - eternal life. That in “Christ, to die is to gain” and “to be absent the body is to be with the Lord”.

Yes, my dad was a remarkable man and I loved him dearly and will surely miss him until the time that I will see him again – in my “Fathers big, big, house.”