Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

June 19, 2010

Happy Father's Day Dad. I Miss You.


A few years ago, I made this little remembrance book as a tribute to my beloved father, who passed away on June 23, 2003.

He was born in 1922, in Georgetown, British Guiana in South America. He, his brother Frank and sister Stella were orphans.
Dad became a US citizen when he was 19 and joined the army. He was wounded in Italy in WW2 and received a purple heart.
Daddy's little girl.

I have a hard time listening to "The Dreaming Tree" by Dave Matthews without weeping at the lyrics quoted on this panel.

Dad's the groovy chick in the pant suit at our beach house.


He used to perform in the Lions Club Minstrel Show each year, in the chorus, singing a solo and also as a Flora Dora Girl. He loved that skit the best. Note the unfortunate flash marks on his balloon boobs. Mom made his Flora Dora costumes.
He took me to see my beloved Red Sox.

Always civic-minded, he proudly volunteered to march in town parades as a Lions Club member.
Then there was the time I dragged him all over Northern California for 3 weeks in the summer of 1988, the year before I moved there.


We had a great time.

I found this note when he found out I got a raise at Channel 56.


This is the last time I saw him alive. He was undergoing radiation for aggressive lung cancer. Diagnosed in February, gone by June.


5 comments:

  1. What a wonderful tribute. He'd be so proud.

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  2. Anonymous12:09 PM

    'To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die'

    ...and your dad is obviously very much still with you.

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  3. The extraordinary physical relationship you had with your dad was awesome. I can understand how you miss him something terrible. However, I truly belive, you have a deeper, more meaningful relationship with him - on a spiritual level. That connection can never be broken. That is something wonderful to cherish. Cheers JoJo!!

    Warmly,

    A Special Friend

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  4. Anonymous1:54 PM

    Just beautiful, JoJo. What a wonderful tribute to your Dad and thank you for sharing all of your memories. I lost my Dad back in 1999 to cancer too. I remember he never complained and was this brave warrior until the end...a true hero. I will be thinking of you on the 23rd and hope your day is filled with all of the good memories both of you shared. You never know...maybe our Dads are together sharing old war stories with each other...wouldn't that be something?

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  5. That is such a great scrapbook of memories! You did a wonderful job. I love each and every page :)

    Hood Photo Blog

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