Sadly, I must share that my father recently passed away. A broken heart tends to lose its voice, but I know my father would be the first to say “No silence, no tears, I have had a wonderful life.” With my mother, the love of his life by his side and with peace in his heart, I would have to agree. He did it all, and did it with strength of character, integrity, honor and aplomb. While I fear my words are poor vehicles in sharing my thoughts at this time, I do know the following photos will speak volumes, and provide a glimpse into the life of the man we so dearly love and so deeply miss. (Link source: http://vimeo.com/38735107).
Bless you all. With your father being a pilot, know that his hand has touched the face of God long before the his final hour.
So, so sorry.
My sincere condolences to you on the passing of your father.
That was very moving and I watched it 3x and cried all 3xs! Your dad was a really nice man. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Beautiful tribute, Tom.
What a beautiful tribute – Alabama’s Finest, and so much more. I am very sorry for your loss, Tom. Will be thinking about you and family. Lots. Love.
So very sorry for your loss. Thinking of you and your family and sending you comforting thoughts.
Love, always.
What a beautiful tribute, Tom. Sending you my deepest sympathy and lots of hugs on the loss of your amazing father.
Shirley
Such a beautiful tribute Tom! Bless your hearts, my thoughts are with you!
I am so sorry for your loss. You had a wonderful Dad, and wonderful memories.
He certainly seemed to have lived life to its fullest – and was blessed with a close and loving family. I am glad you have such a rich trove of memories with which to sustain you. I am so sorry for your loss.
I’m so sorry for your loss, Tom – and you’ve done a beautiful tribute with his memory. Going back and remembering all of your posts about him – he truly did live a very full life. [Getting emotional here, got to try not to get teary-eyed! I’m reading this @ work!]
I am sorry for your loss. Your album in tribute to your Dad really did say it all. What an incredible life!
I’m so sorry to hear about your dad passing. You’ve posted about him before, so I have some idea how deeply you loved and admired him, and how much you’ll miss him. Hugs!
May his spirit soar and may you know the comfort of him always, Tom. Bless you.
Tom, I’m so sorry for your loss. He’s with you now and within you having passed along to you his “strength of character, integrity, honor and aplomb”. Such gifts! Hugs.
I’m so sorry Tom. Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories.
Thank you, Tom, for sharing your dad’s amazing life with us. The photos tell a wonderful story about his zest for living and how much he is loved and missed by many. Much peace and love to you, and your family…
You have your father’s eyes.
Much love to you Tom XXXOOO
I’m so sorry, Tom. You are in my thoughts. Thanks for sharing these memories with us.
How courageous of you to share such intimate feelings with us ; your dad must have been a remarkable man and I am sorry for your loss.
hello Tom, not sure how I ended up here but I’m here to say how sorry I am for your loss. You can tell a lot about a man by who his father is. Your slide show of your Dad is loving, strong, and also vulnerable. Thank you for sharing.
What a lovely tribute to your father…he raised the most talented and delightful son…big love…R.
Peace and love to you.
Wishing you peace and comfort with the passing of your father. We never really get over grief, we merely learn to accomodate it. I know you must have made him proud.
Tom…I just watched the video once again. It did touch me deeply. I lost my mom at the age of 16..I do have some pictures, but mostly remember some of her best qualities.. (in the kitchen cooking) but your tribute is indeed beautiful…you should be proud..what a lovely man he was, and what a lovely man he did create in the son that you are. Blessings to your family, Ina
Such a touching way to make a tribute to your father by highlighting his strengths, accomplishments, and passions through photos of his life.
My condolences on your loss. May peace fill your heart soon.
So sorry to hear about your father. Looks like he lead a long, beautiful life. You’re in my thoughts.
Tom. Comfort in the good moments, in harmony and presence with this man who decided to become your dad and journeyed to the moment of true knowing of his son, true love and acceptance of all that you are with a grin toward the future yet to be told. Peace be upon your ma and all those who loved this man.
Such a beautiful tribute. So deeply sorry for your loss, Tom.
So sorry for you loss Tom! You are so very fortunate to have had such strength as a role model and a dad that left such a wonderful legacy. Prayers for your family during this difficult time.
Hi, Tom. The tears were falling as I watched your beautiful tribute to your Dad. What an amazing life he had! No doubt, he shared memories of that life with you and they will live on. I know the deep pain of losing a parent and my thoughts and prayers are with you.
How wonderful to have lived this life and have been loved so much.God bless you all.
Tom, I am so sorry for your loss. From the images it’s clear that your father lived a full, rich, and varied life. A truly touching, and beautiful tribute. My sincere condolences to you and your family.
What a loving tribute to your father – a fine man – a gentleman and a gentle man.
I am so truly sorry for your loss and to your family. Your father will live on in your hearts forever.
Be blessed,
Kathy
Tom, You are so blessed to have had such a wonderful man for your father. The day he was born-Earth was blessed. The day he went home to Heavenly Father-Heaven was blessed.
Love to you and your family!
So sorry. What a beautiful tribute to your father!
What a sweet and tender-hearted tribute to a life well lived. Thank you for sharing your father’s story. I am holding you in my heart, Tom.
It truly was a wonderful life…And what a wonderful way to recognize and remember it. Keep him in your heart always…
Tom, I’m so sorry for your loss. He’ll live on your heart forever.
I am sorry for your loss. You are so fortunate to have so many wonderful remembrances.
My sincere condolences. May you gain strength from your precious memories.
A lovely tribute to your father and family. Thank you for sharing…
Such a wonderful life and memories you must have, you are very fortunate. Your family is truly blessed to be so close and loving.
I am so sorry. What a beautiful collection of pictures that you have to go along with what must be a wonderful collection of memories of your dad. I recently lost my dad as well and your pictures and music had me crying…
Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your Dad’s life, Tom. He certainly did have a full, happy life and you were lucky to have each other so long. To quote from a card I received when my Dad passed over, “There is a new star shining brightly in the sky tonight.”
So sorry for your loss, Tom. It’s never easy losing a parent, but you’re so right, you will always have the memories.
Hi Tom,
Sorry for your loss. This post is a beautiful tribute to your dad. He did indeed have a wonderful and full live.
Cheers,
H
Tom, I am really sorry to hear about your dad. He was a wonderful man and I have very fond memories of the conversations I had with him. He always talked to me about how proud he was of his children and the adventures of his life in the Air Force. He was really more of an Indiana Jones than I think most people realized. I stumbled upon your blog a while back and I check in to read it every once in a while. Please tell your Mom, Linda and Bill that I am really sorry to hear about your dad. Peace and love to all of you.
Lynn (Conway) Hammond
Thanks Lynn for the kinds words, and sympathy, I’ll pass them along to the rest of the family too.
Hi again Tom… I just watched this today for the first time. What a lovely tribute. I did fine until the shot with the yellow lab head tucked up against him. I lost my dad in Oct 2007. He had black labs and stretching out for a nap on the floor with a dog was one his favorite things to do. I have a photo of him napping with my big white Great Pyrenees. Very powerful, that combination of man and animal bonding
Thank you Bebe, your kind words are very appreciated. One of my favorite photos of my Dad is from one of his visits to the farm and he’s napping on my summer porch sofa with Boz who is wide awake and keeping watched wedged between him and the arm cushion.