Monday, April 20, 2015
To my Loving Father-in-Law, Many years have passed since you and I became family. The very first time I met you was at your Ocean Beach Bungalow when I was 14 years old. I walked in with Angelo and the first thing you said to me was "why is he the lifeguard and you have the better tan". "And by the way, the Pot's need to be scrubbed", in a jokingly manner. It was from that moment I realized you had a great sense of humor. Many, many fond memories of you, reel off in my head, coming to my house for Christmas decorating the tree and watching Angelo in one of his moods because of the Tree being crooked, (as it is today). Taking you to the emergency room because you choked on your favorite "pecan sandie cookie" and all you did was laugh and get mad at Angelo for teasing you. I was now 18, and you and I had the running joke instead of "E" meaning empty on the Gas Gauge, it meant "Enough" to Angelo. It seemed to be always after midnight when we ran out of gas, and we would see your loving fatherly face, from afar, and say what a good man. As you got closer, Angelo would say Thanks Pop, it's great to see you and also say, you look great in that members Only Jacket, are you the only member ? No matter how mad or aggravated you may have been, you could never stop yourself from laughing, your humor shines through again. I remember being a young bride of 20 years old, on occasion the door bell would ring and it would be you bringing over bags filled with cooked food and your delicious deserts in A & P bags. What a talented cook and desert maker you turned out to be, as a matter of fact come to think of it, you were a perfectionist at whatever you did. I remember one time, you held 3 jobs down at once, and always having time for your family. Having a family myself I know how things can get so chaotic at every turn, that must have been unbelievably hard for you. You never once showed it. Another fond memory is you sitting in your lazy boy chair when walking into the Fords House, and all I can remember is hours of laughter. One of your favorites was Jethro from the Beverly Hillbilly's, I used to laugh at you laughing at him. One of Many of the most emotional memories I have of you is with the birth of our children, you held my hand with all three, and on one occasion you said to me, "Thank you for making me a Grandpa", and what a wonderful Grandpa you turned out to be !! The Best !! Another is, I remember calling you at the A&G Pork Store with the dreaded phone call that your mom passed away, as you were expecting it to happen and wanted the call when it happened. It was so hard for me to do that, but you made it easy for me once again even in your time of grief by saying to me, "I know what your about to say, thank you for calling Donna". Always thinking of others before yourself. Another emotional moment for me was last Christmas Eve, it was a beautiful Christmas Eve, but your disease had unfortunately taken a lot of its toll on you, and you did not remember me at first, as you stared at me with a blank look. It was so painful to see. After sitting opposite you for nearly an hour, you wrote down on a piece of paper "Donna, you belong to Angelo". That made my Christmas a very Special Christmas Dad. The point here is that this is the canvas that makes a family, you were the Head of a Loving Family and provided Food, Comfort and Laughter at every turn. Thank you for being a Wonderful man and a Wonderful Father-in-Law !! I choose to celebrate your life with laughter, as that is the relationship we had Dad. A Message from my Heart From your Loving Daughter-in-Law Donna
