Dad – Through His Daughters Eyes Three daughters and one Dad and no matter what he always gave his time and love to each of us. He was a wonderful person, well loved and greatly respected. He was an absolute rock, so thoroughly dependable in both good times and bad. He was surrounded by a house full of bossy women and the only other male companion was Smokey – our dog. So needless to say he was most relieved when son-in-laws started arriving on the scene! Although the last twelve months have been very difficult and the dreadful impact of Motor Neurone Disease on Dad, family and friends has been immense it has also proved to be a most empowering and enlightening time. It was truly humbling to see, and we are so extremely proud of how bravely our Dad dealt with his illness. He bore his pain and suffering with such dignity, another quality he had always displayed throughout his life. Dad has left a huge void in our lives. The reason for this is that his amazing character couldn’t help but leave an impression, and his passion for life always outweighed whatever he would have to go through at his end. The only consolation we have is that his pain and suffering is over. However, our thoughts and memories of Dad go back much further – infact way back to 1958, 1962 and 1969 to be exact – the years when his girls were born. As you can imagine, with three girls, a wife, a dog, and rabbits – life was always busy and a bit noisy in our household – especially when everyone needed to use the bathroom at the same time! When we were kids, Friday night was comic and sweetie night – and in the summer we would often walk up to the train station to meet Dad from work – the sweet shop being next to the station – however word quickly got round and he usually had a welcome party waiting for him – but that was Dad, always generous – with both time and money. Our Dad had a very strong work ethic and he was always hard working – For many years Dad worked in the city of London and then enjoyed working at Portobello Road market on a Saturday where he could indulge his passionate interest for antiques, jewellery, clocks and watches. That was Dads working life but life was not all work, and we have fond memories of trips down to Southend to see the Christmas lights, holidays in Clacton, Kessingland and great Yarmouth – and then we finally hit the jackpot and had our first foreign holiday in Benidorm! Such class – those sombreros, donkeys and sandals with white socks – which Dad insisted on wearing! These family holidays have continued long into our adult life and have been thoroughly enjoyed by all – can you imagine Dad even winning the Mr. Cala Nova competition at the ripe old age of 76! Dad has been a constant source of strength through our lives, but that is not to say he did not have weaknesses – the main one being his cigarettes! His enjoyment of his cigarettes is well documented in our family photos - even our wedding photos – there we were all dressed up to the nines – Dad in his top hat and tails trying to hide his cigarette from view – but it was just that little puff of smoke behind him that always gave it away. We have so many memories but we would be here all day – to us he was intelligent, a very fair, honest gentleman. He was most certainly a man of old fashioned values. It seems very dated now but he insisted that ladies should walk on the inside of the pavement whilst the man takes the outer side – a tradition he upheld to the end. His beliefs and character have helped shaped us to make us the people we are today – we hope that we can continue to live up to his expectations. All that remains to be said, is Sleep Peacefully Dad, We Love and Miss You with all Our Hearts but Thank You for all that you have done for us. Till we meet up again. Our fondest love Sue, Jo and Allie xxxxxxxxxxx