The tribute to my dad that I read at the celebration of his life. Not funeral. He didn’t want one of those.

---

My dad was a man who was loved by everyone.

I have been told by so many people over this past week that to know Jack was to love Jack…it just couldn’t be helped.

He loved all of us with such joy and pride, that it lit up his face every time we were together. He loved my mom from the day he met her and was married to her for over 41 years. He spoke of her with such love in his eyes and told me many times that I was lucky to have married my best friend because he’s sure glad he did. He always added ”…because nobody else would have tolerated me for this long!” and he may have been right. But he couldn’t have made a better choice in our Mom for many more reasons than that. He had great taste.

His four grandchildren were the loves of his life and a huge part of the reason he fought cancer so hard (and won, several times) for the past two years. Before he left for his last vacation on PEI, he was so excited to have been told that he was still cancer free that he was on the phone for days sharing the news with everyone.

My dad was truly an awesome, one of a kind man.

He was a man who was a loyal friend to the end and a friend to everyone.
You may have only met once or twice back in 1979, but you were his buddy!

He was a man who loved his family more than anything in the world.
Yes, even more than fly fishing.
Bragging about kids and grandkids was his specialty. He wasn’t shy about how perfect we all are!

One of his many hobbies was genealogy. He loved the details and particularly how it brought people together. He has become very close with cousins he hadn’t seen since childhood and is in contact with more people than I ever thought possible with the last names _______ or ______. Did you know that everyone in the world with those last names is our relative? According to Jack, they are. He would have welcomed them into his home with open arms, because that’s what you do for family.
He was a man who accepted everyone.

My husband and sister in law were loved as his own children from the beginning.
He considered their families his family too.
Everyone was welcome when my dad was around – the more the merrier.
Often my mom would come home from work and find out about plans he’d made for them with friends or people he’d invited over without consulting her, because he couldn’t pass up a chance to be with friends.

In planning this celebration of my dad’s life today I realized that he has more friends than anyone ever knew. He has the same friends that he had in his early Air Force days over 45 years ago and he has only added more over the years.

My dad was a fixer. When I moved out of my parents’ house, he bought me all of the tools he thought I’d need to be independent and to use the skills he had taught me throughout my life, but whenever anything needed fixing he just drove to _______ and fixed it for me.

Dad shared a love of the outdoors with ______ and loved over the years to hunt, fish, tie flies, shoot skeet, scuba dive, camp, hike and ride motorbikes. He also shared these loves with some great friends and has awesome memories of biking with Father _______, hunting with _______ & _______, camping with “the gang”, fly tying with _______ and so many more. We can’t thank you all enough for being such wonderful friends to my Dad over the years. You all meant the world to him and he’d be so happy that you’re all gathered here today to share some laughter, tears, and hugs with us, the people he loved most in the world.

When we told my two year old son _______ that Grandpa Jack had to go and live in heaven with God and the angels, he didn’t seem to understand at first other than to recite a line from his bedtime prayers, “The angels watch me through the night.” It was only a few minutes before he asked to talk to “Gampa Dzack” as he did every day before he phoned you since he learned to talk. I was worried that it would bother him not to get an answer, so I just said “Okay,” and waited to see what he would do. As I looked on, he went outside on our deck, looked at the sky and shouted “I love you Grandpa Jack!”

Dad, I’m sure you heard him. I’m also sure that by now you have received the picture that he drew for you and asked me to mail to heaven. We promise that your memory will live on for your grandkids through us. God knows we’ve got enough stories to tell!

When my dad’s mother passed away, we began to talk about her every time there was a Montreal Canadiens game on tv. She was an avid fan and we know she has been watching every moment of every game on a bigger screen than is available here on earth. After my dad’s passing, my husband pointed out that this season will be the Canadiens’ 100th anniversary season and he’ll be watching on that same big screen with his mom & dad, his brother and many friends with Ruffy curled at his feet and Chan on his lap.

I love you, Dad, and I will always miss you.