My Father is an incredible man. A very hard worker, dedicated and an amazing listener...just to name a few:) He has accomplished a lot in his life! For as long as I can remember he has always been there for me and our family. My Dad was born in 1953 in Vanier, Ontario (we think). He grew up in Blackburn, Ontario with his parents and 4 brothers. His oldest brother was Garry than Bryan (Dad was the middle child) than Wayne and Mark. Growing up in my father's childhood years his family didn't have very much. His Father worked as an auto body repair man. They often had to get their meals from the Food Bank. They lived in Blackburn until Dad was about 17 years old. His parents bought a house and moved to Riceville, Ontario. After graduating High School Dad started working. He did garbage pick up in and around Riceville with his brother. A few years later at around 19 years old his older brother Bryan was working in Ottawa, Ontario for a cleaning company and got my Dad some work cleaning apartments as needed. Dad went back and forth for awhile between Riceville and Ottawa. Than Dad moved in with a friend in Ottawa and continued to get work. At 20 years old he got a job cleaning and painting apartments at Richmond Park Square. As part of the job he got a one bedroom apartment with free rent. The building was still being built at that time. Dad met my Mom when he was around 19-20 years old when she was visiting her best friend in Riceville. They dated for almost a year and than got engaged, Mom moved in to Dad's apartment and a few years later when Dad was 28 years old they got married. One year after getting married my Mom got into a horrible car accident and broke her back among other things. She was in a Montreal hospital for 3 weeks strapped to a striker bed...the hospital was on strike at the time, so the care and service was very poor. Dad would drive out to Montreal as often as he could after work and when he wasn't oncall at the building. Mom was stuck in a striker bed and full of needles. Dad was the only one that could flip the bed properly without ripping all her needles out. Finally after calling many hospitals, Dad got her into the Civic Hospital in Ottawa. She had surgery on her back right away and stayed there for about a month. She was in a full body cast for 6 months and has had 5 back operations since her accident. I cant even imagine how hard that time was for the both of them...my poor Mom being in so much pain and Dad worrying about his wife. One year after the accident 1980, Mom was pregnant with my brother Jeff...what a miracle! that same year they bought the cottage...Over the years Dad has put a lot of work into our family cottage...it started out as a one room type cabin to a 3 bedroom, 1 bath and a huge kitchen/living room area. It is pretty much the best place ever! and something I hope my Dad is very proud of. We've always had boats from the time I can remember...and having fun on the water was set by my parents. They played hard in their day. Dad loved water skiing and taught us how to do it. Going tubing was always so fun with Dad driving:) We always knew it was a hot day when Dad would go for a swim in the lake...he'd rather sweat it out:) but it was always a nice treat to have Dad come splashing in (in his usual way, kicking his legs as hard as possible). My parents were superintendents at Richmond Park Square for many years being oncall every other week and weekend (which meant having to stay home when they were oncall, so it was always so nice getting up to the cottage). They bought their house in 1994 and were finally free from being on call:) Dad's favorite pass time is reading...and baths have always been an every night relax time for Dad too, still to this day. Reads his newspaper and soaks it up...Jeff and I would always bath with him when we were kids and now he gets to bath with his grand kids when they visit:) Another favorite pass time was playing baseball. He started playing when he was 25 years old in various leagues until he was 43 years old. He usually always played 3rd base. Some of the teams he could remember were Hansler-Smith, Toyota, Ned Kellies, Tech 5, Premiere Concrete and his last team was Homestead Hooters (they had owls on their shirts:)) Dad's nickname was stretch because he was so tall and skinny:) I can remember quite well getting to go to Dad's baseball games, it was so much fun, we made friends with other kids and would have a great time playing around. Throughout the '70s to the mid '80s Dad would take night courses twice a week, so that he could get his Management Diploma. It paid off because in 1989 he became the Building Manager of Richmond Park Square. What an accomplishment!! As the Company bought more residential buildings in Ottawa, Dad became the Property Manager of them...and in 2001 he became the Ottawa Area Manager for Homestead Land Holdings. The company started out with owning 5 buildings to now 29!! My Dad is a busy man! He oversees them all and is the big boss (I guess you could say) over 4 Property Managers...one being my Mom:) I worked for Homestead for 5 years as a Rental Consultant/Bldg. Manager before having babies. Jeff works for Homestead currently and has for many years as a Heat and Air Conditioning Repair Technician. Our whole family worked for Homestead at one point! Homestead's a lucky company;)
My Father has taught me a lot. He's always given us his time and attention. Always willing to help and be there for whatever we need. He is a hands on father and a great example. He rarely yelled and always taught by example. Jeff and I are who we are largely because of you Dad. Father's are very important role models. And I know Jeff would agree that you are an awesome Dad. Never grumpy or short. Always full of love and understanding. You have a great sense of humor and enjoy every second of life with your family. I'm so grateful that you were always able to be home. Thank you Dad for being you. Sadly you and Mom have experienced a lot of death in your life. Both of your parents have passed and 2 of your brothers, all at very young ages. You've made the most with your life when you could have easily settled for less. I love you so much Dad. Happy Father's Day!
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