In Honor of Father’s Day

 

 

In honor of Father’s Day, here are ten things I admire about my daddy and wish I had told him before he moved to heaven.

1. I admire his work ethic. Dad was a hard worker. He started working early in life, going to CCC camp which was Civil Conservation Camp during the Great Depression that President F.D. Roosevelt started to conserve natural resources and put unemployed young men to work. When he retired, he was a union machinist for the railroad. After he retired, he bought old houses and fixed them up to rent out.

2. I admire his great thirst for knowledge. Daddy was a voracious reader, a self-taught man. Dad only went through the fifth grade but because of his natural intelligence and desire to learn about everything, he could have had a master’s degree in college if he’d had the chance.

3. I admire his ability to talk on any subject. He read about every subject and remembered everything he read.

4. I admire his strong opinionated personality. Okay, I didn’t always agree with him. In fact, we frequently disagreed, but I admire his backbone, that he stood up for what he believed in without backing down.

5. I admire his dedication to his mother.

6. I admire his courage. He worked in the railroad “roundhouse” in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, in the slum area, but he was not afraid.

7. I admire his service to his country during World War II and Korean War. The Army shaped his life.

8. I admire his mechanical ability. Daddy could fix anything.

9. I admire Dad’s looks. He was a handsome man and we kids inherited the best of him and mother both.

10. I admire his heart for God. His mother was a Full-Gospel preacher and his dad was right by her side singing with her. Daddy gave his heart to the Lord early but was hurt by people in the church so he was never a church member, but he spent his whole life seeking God, researching religions, and finally returned to the God of his youth.

Ephesians 6:2-3, “‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise, ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’”

Lavon (Hightower—my maiden name) Lewis