Daddy

My daddy would have been 89 years old today. He died very suddenly almost 13 years ago. Our daddy was an incredible man, a great father, he loved the Lord and the Church and he loved us. We never had a doubt about that! He could be gruff, he wasn't all lovey dovey and affectionate, in fact below is a picture of him hugging me back in 1993.



Click on the pictures to see them bigger.


*** Please forgive the crooked pictures....I'm convinced I will never be savvy enough to do this right, but maybe it makes it a little more interesting.

Daddy was such a good looking young man, don't you think? Between he and mama, we know where our good looks came from. :)

By the way, these pictures aren't in any particular order. I had to scan them in and that took way more time that I thought, so I'm running out of his actual birthday!

Below is daddy holding the last grandchild born before daddy died. This is about a year and a half before he died.

You know now that I'm studying these pictures, he looks kind of lovey dovey doesn't he???


Below he's laughing with his granddaughter Amy. He always had a special place in his heart for her!




He also had a special place for my granddaughter Ashley. Below he is with her at the San Diego Zoo when she was three. She's 16 1/2 now! She hadn't seen her great grandpa since she was 8 months old, so we explained who he was and she acted as if she had seen him the day before.....he got a little ahead of her at the zoo and she cried out Wait for me great! Below she's giving Great a big hug!



Below he is with my brother and his two children on Christmas, of what year I can't tell you. DATE YOUR PICTURES! Just a suggestion.



From left to right, his daughters, Debbie, me and Cathy.

With my son David a long time ago.......he's now 31.

With all six children and mama.....left to right and also youngest to oldest.....Steve, Michael, Debbie, me, Cathy, Tommy and Mama. Obviously a long time ago!



One thing about my daddy, he loved our mama!



For a while in the late 40's, daddy worked in Baton Rouge. Mama was home with two little children and daddy practiced something that has almost gone by the way.....writing letters! Below is a letter he mailed on September 12, 1949.

This letter is so sweet and so precious. We should all have something like this to read when we're old. Every time I read this letter, I am amazed that my daddy wrote these words. I never knew he was such a romantic!

This is what he wrote.....I don't think mama will mind that I'm putting it out there for the world. Ronald Reagan's love letters have nothing on my dad!

My mama's name is Margaret, but daddy called her Greta for a long time.

Monday Nite

My Darling Greta,

I wish I could put on paper all the things I want to say to you, but that is impossible.

First I want to wish you a happy birthday and pray that I never have to be away from you on your birthday again. I will try for the rest of my life to make up to you the time that I have lost while working out here.

Darling, I hate to say this, but I walked all over this town Sat. trying to find an appropriate gift for you on your birthday - but with what money I had I could find nothing that was worthy of you - everything is so high and then all of this La. tax on top of that. I am deeply ashamed that I could not send you anything - so Darling will you put your watch in the shop and have it fixed and call it your birthday present from me. Someday with the help of our Lord, I will be able to give you and the kids the things that I want you to have, and also will be with you.

I hope and pray that we will soon be together - never to part again. My Darling I miss you and my children every minute that I live.

Tell Tommy and Cathy that I love them and am trying to fix things so that we can all be together again.

I love you Darling with all my heart

Your J.T.

P.S. I love you

I left some sentences out....just because they were housekeeping type items. Reading this, I keep thinking that the daddy I remember was a man of few words, obviously not always!

Hug your dads tonight if you can, sometimes they aren't there in the morning.

Proverbs 10:7a Memories of the righteous will be a blessing