Tributes

There have been so many tributes paid to my dad that we have all been astounded.  Of course I knew that my dad was a special and wonderful man, but we have truly been overwhelmed by others who have shared with us that they felt the same way.  There was a tribute article in our hometown newspaper this past weekend, and people from near and far have sent messages to our family.  There were over 320 people who stood in line at his visitation, some for nearly an hour.  My friend from Chicago was coming for my birthday celebration and decided to stay through the services.  Another friend whom I haven't seen in over seven years surprised me by driving over an hour from her home near Columbus to pay her respects.  That brought me to tears.  I think the thing that truly touched me is that my father was a hugely successful businessman, but that isn't at all what people talked about as they chatted with us.  People told us how kind, gentle, and generous he was, and that no one, even going back to his high school days, had every heard anyone say an unkind word about him.  Those that are in my generation talked about what my dad had taught them...not only kindness and fairness, but his second-to-none work ethic.  Here we are, nearly 12 days removed, and we are still getting messages, cards, and condolences.

My mom mentioned to me the other day that Dad would be shocked to see all of this.  My father did everything in his life "behind the scenes."  If he were alive right now he would be pulling someone aside and telling them this nonsense needed to stop right now.

This had been a rough 12 days, but honestly, in some ways, not as awful as I had always anticipated it being.  I'm sure some things will hit me at times, and certain dates will be difficult.  But knowing that my father touched the lives of so many in such an amazingly positive way has provided such a great deal of comfort!