Heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you that have commented, posted on my wall, and pm’d…I could not keep up and was overwhelmed in many ways, so please accept my delayed response and know that nothing went unnoticed. Your compassionate words, love and kindness truly gave me strength and helped to carry me through. We are a very close family and am self admittedly, a “Daddy’s Girl” and as you can imagine, I was devastated… Our family has suffered a great loss, as many of you have experienced, it has been incredibly unbearable at times but we are trying to find a “new normal” and live with the pain and void that losing Dad far too soon leaves. Our community of family and friends have embraced us in so many ways and we are forever thankful. I am genuinely grateful for your love and friendship and have been asked by many family members and friends to share my eulogy from Dad’s service. Those of you who may not have known him well, will get a better understanding of how blessed we were, and to those of you that were lucky enough to have known him, well….you may nod your head a time or two, give a chuckle or shed a tear. Cherish youre loved ones and take no time with them for granted... Dan ‘Smitty’ Smith July 28, 1950-October 18, 2014 Thank you all for coming today….we are feeling your love and needing it right now, and do not have the words to express how much it means to receive your prayers and calls, messages, visits and FOOD…oh the food, Dad would be so pleased. Such a love for food he had, but especially when we would all gather at the lake…around the food. In my late teens, I remember conversations at those gatherings that I had with Great Uncle Bob, the eldest of the Jones siblings… He would often say one thing that has stuck in my head over the years, and many a time would bring that to mind…..he said, we are all “flawed” and self admittedly, when I would ask him ‘How are you?’ his reply would be, “Well Danica, I. Am. Flawed. But overall good”. It somewhat puzzled me then, but I have grown to become very aware of just what wisdom he was trying to share with me. We are all flawed, even someone, who I thought hung the moon. The man we were blessed to be born to, who we called Dad. He could do everything, fix anything, or make things; I happened to have married a guy like that, go figure, and only after he bought me a corvair to restore, did Dad truly accept him and let me know he was ok; in fact, so many times since, I would answer his call only to be asked, “Hi Toots, can I talk to Brian?” Speaking of marriage…he could be challenging to say the least – he could be a rock when he needed to be and sometimes just have rocks in his head, but he gave good love and definitely kept things interesting to say the least?! If he didn’t know how to do something…………he would work at it till he figured it out or call in the cavalry, Oakley, Roger, Jack or Bob. We had the privilege of growing up in a village of family and while that was not so common, that was all we knew. He cherished his mother and grandmother, and learned from them to cook almost as well as they did. We were truly blessed BUT that also meant, that everyone in our village knew everything we were doing or trying to get away with and it was just the same for him growing up. Sooooo, I’ve heard stories since before I was able to remember them fully, about my dad. Most were about his fun loving, eager to try new things side that may or may not have turned out well……..many were about, just how well it didn’t turn out…which was usually followed by so much laughter and a whole lotta razzin’. And some were simply about how rotten he could be, not necessarily on purpose but s o m e t i m e s just to do exactly what he was told not to do?! Many of those stories most always involved his siblings, the neighborhood Ford kids, a horse named Tricker and various things with wheels or skis. In a way, looking back I think we were all a bit molded by some of those stories… We were just discussing the other night how I grew up with just a little more pressure than my siblings a n d I kinda had to break trail with dad, but in a way, it was actually a little easier because he had nothing to compare me to. We had many squabbles, endless lectures, stories of how something related to what he had done…..SUCH a story teller he was, and even stand offs of who could give the silent treatment the longest, he never won, because ultimately, it would end in Dad wrapping an arm around me, letting me know that I was forgiven, to learn from my mistake, that he still loved me and although his anger had faded, I had a punishment to serve. He knew I was flawed but he accepted me and loved me unconditionally, as he did with each and every one of us. Either way, when one of us were caught and mind you, there were many times that we weren’t, while he may have been very upset, and man, could he be grouchy, I think he understood a little better than those parents who may have been, let’s just say, not quite so much trouble. He knew HE was flawed and was just a little less judgmental because of it. Come to think of it, that’s probably why he found such companionship with his dogs, they see no flaws and remain loyal no matter. He wasn’t just a good dad, he was one of the greats….and put the FUN in dysfunction. And boy, did we have fun… when the cousins or friends came over (and they never turned down an opportunity) and often whined until they could come…we were that house, the house should have come with a signed permission slip or waiver that held NO ONE responsible for what may happen. I got my first stitches on a backyard zip-line that he “rigged up” for us. He called it the “dirt-ball” trolley for all of us “dirt-balls”… many of which fondly referred to him as Uncle Mud. And of course, we had various other things (just as he did) with motors, wheels and skis…and he encouraged us to do it all, or at the very least try, and I thank him for that, I think we’re all a little bit more courageous because of it and at times, perhaps, just a tad too brave. And the grandchildren were lucky enough to have that same kind of unconditional love, tolerance, and encouragement. So fortunate, Papa loved you all so much. We are ALL so blessed to have had him. And he touched so many more people, far more reaching than most of us will ever know. He took pride in his work and being Dan the Pepsi Man, but apart from that, friends and family meant everything. Our family tree was vast and large when we sprouted our branches, not many are born into a family so extensive and close. We were small and fragile then, but we have grown and become stronger over the years and despite losing many of those bigger and stronger limbs on that tree, it still stands and continues to grow. On this day, we celebrate one of those bigger, stronger limbs that remained steady through many storms and although we feel as though we have lost that limb, He will always be here in our hearts and in our kind, non-judgmental, unconditional love and time that we give to others. Smitty shuffle on Dad… Had to share this link, as ironically enough, it appeared in my newsfeed as I went to post?! redbookmag/_mobile/kids-family/blogs/mom-blog/things-all-dads-of-daughters-should-know?src=soc_fcbks
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 04:11:09 +0000
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