The Best Of Fathers - Happy Father's Day To All~

Here are a few highlights of the men in my life that are the best of fathers.I have deep gratitude for the part they have played in my life. I love them all so much. I am wishing for them a wonderful Father's Day!

My Father - Millan

For the past several years I have been somewhat sad on Father's Day. My dearest Father passed away in October of 2001. He was the best of Dads and I loved him so much. I would love to be able to pick up a phone and hear his voice. My Dad loved to sing and would often sing in the car when we were driving somewhere. Oh, how I loved his songs. He loved to sing; "My Wild Irish Rose", "Buttons and Bows", "Danny Boy", and "Always" which was a favorite of my parents. I would love to hear him sing and hold his hand once more. Three years before my Dad passed away; he made a recording of some of his favorite songs, along with one that he made up the words too and gave it to my mother. He was a romantic man and loved my mother with all of his heart and soul and she felt the same for him. He was always hugging, kissing and dancing with her. 

My sweet Dad was raised by his Maternal Grandmother. Both of his parents passed away when he was very young. 

                   1st picture - My grandparents and my Dad - 2nd picture - My Dad in his blessings            gown. My grandmother made it for him and all three of my daughters were blessed in this gown. - 3rd & 4th picture my Dad with his father. 

I recently found some  additional pictures of my Dad when he was young and it was so fun to see what he looked like then. 

My Dad was a real cowboy. He dressed as one, rode a horse as one and loved to hunt and fish. He also was a Sheriff Deputy later on in life.  

As a young man my Dad was not active in our Church. However, he became very ill when I was about 6 years old and he had a profound spiritual experience that changed his life. 

I  know that my Father loved our Savior Jesus Christ and Our Heavenly Father with all of his heart. He was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He  taught me a lot on how to be a true Christian. He served several missions for our church. As a youth I remember watching my parents leave to go to the Manti LDS Temple which was a couple of hours away. They loved going to the temple. Later in life they were able to serve as a missionaries in the Cove Fort Mission. That was a highlight in their lives.

I owe a special thanks you to my Father for nurturing my testimony. I have deep gratitude to my Heavenly Father for providing me with such faithful and good parents. 

I have two older brothers and I was his only daughter of which he spoiled me a lot.

 Here are a few pictures of my Dad and I and also some precious memories~

My Dad was a rancher and farmer. He was a harder worker. I had many special times with him out on the farm and also on my Uncle's ranch. 

He loved to fish and we went on many fishing trips. I know that sometimes he would put a fish on the end of my fishing pole when I was off playing and then he would call out to me that I had a fish. 

When I was 9 years old my Dad lost his farm and went to work as an Ice Cream delivery man.  His route was from Richfield up to Eureka, Utah and back. On his route, he would deliver Ice Cream to different Cafes in the many small towns. I went with him a few times when he made these trips. He would often get me a little ice cream treat from the the back of the truck when he made stops. When we arrived in Eureka we would stay in a hotel room and he would take me to a movie; which generally was a cowboy movie. Even today I continue to enjoy watching cowboy movies. I always wanted to be Annie Oakley and spent many hours on the farm pretending I was. 

Every birthday and other special days he would buy me a Story Book Doll. I am sure Mother played a big part in this one too. I have quite a collection of these dolls. 

My Dad loved riding horses and would  take me on the horse with him when I was very small. I loved to ride horses with my family. One memorable trip that we had as a family was riding horses up on Fish Lake Mountain and staying in my uncles cabin for a few days.

  He loved to hunt deer and later on in life when I was married we went deer hunting with my family and always had such a good time. He was so fun to be with. My dear father had such a delightful personality; people loved to be around him. All of my children and many of my  grandchildren have had treasured moments with my Dad.

Here are three family pictures - The 1st picture is a favorite of mine; I am presently the only one  still here. The 2nd picture is their entire family - The third picture is the last picture taken before my Dad started with Alzheimer's.

My Dad loved sports and coached the town baseball team in Richfield for many years. My brothers became good at all of the sports and my Dad did not miss a game.  I felt like I was raised on a baseball field because we went to all of the games. I think I spent most of the time playing under the bleachers. 
My parents owned a Cafe in Richfield for a few years. I loved to work in the cafe and people loved to come because of my parents. They both had friendly and delightful personalities. 
when I was in 8th grade we moved to Salt Lake City. Both my parents worked full time at different jobs through the years. Again, my parents were so fun and my teenage friends enjoyed coming to our home to watch TV or play games. My Mother always made popcorn and my Dad was always joking around. 
Growing up I felt so blessed to have great parents. They were both always there for me. I have so many wonderful memories of them both. 
 The last six months of his life he was in a Care Center due to Alzheimer's. At one point he was assigned a room with another man. Somehow the two of them connected and we came in one day to hear them both singing some of the old time songs and it was so wonderful. We clapped and enjoyed the moment with tears streaming down our faces. They had an audience but didn't even know it

One of my fondest memories was my last dance. Growing up my Dad and Mom loved to go dancing. They belonged to a square dancing group for a while. My Dad was a very good dancer. Whenever there was dance music playing in our home; he would grab my mother and dance with her and then he would always dance with me too. 

When he developed Alzheimer's disease and was in the  Care Center; I flew down  from my home in Spokane to Las Vegas to see him  a few times before he passed a way. The amazing thing about my Dad was that he always remembered who my mom was and he would always remember me. He had a pet name that he called me and it was Leanne. I miss hearing him say that name. One of the last visits that I made to see him in the Care Center; my mom and I took him down  to the recreation room. There was music playing and he grabbed my mom and danced a way with her.  When the music stopped he came over to me and as the music began again I had a last dance with my precious Dad. I will treasure that memory forever. 

Towards the end he was put in the Hospice Hospital that I had worked at for  a few years when we lived in Las Vegas.  My husband and I flew down and that day ended up being his last night. I had encouraged my mother and everyone else to go home and get some rest. My husband and I stayed at his bedside and I was holding my Dad's hand when he took his last breathe. 

I love you Daddy, I miss you and I will be yours forever. 

My Dad and I~

Happy Father's Day To My Dearest Husband, Roger ~

 My Husband is the sweetest, most gentle and kind man that I know. He has great wisdom and has given strong counsel to his children through the years. His life is centered in Christ and that is one of his greatest attributes. He is a true disciple of our Savior Jesus Christ. He is a most giving and generous man. I have seen him give to others countless times in many different ways. He loves the temple and enjoys serving there. We both enjoy this great work.

He has worked hard his whole life to be a good provider for his family. He is always there when there is a need. Our children have had great advantages due to his hard work.
Serving an Inner City Mission with this dear man taught me many things about caring for others.  While serving on our Inner City mission we were heading home one late afternoon. He noticed that there was a car stalled in the middle of a very busy street. We pulled into a parking lot and he got out of the car and ran out into a busy road to see if the woman in the car was OK. We were not in a good area of the city; so I was a bit frightened by the situation. He did not hesitate for a moment to help. She was so grateful to him and another man who came to help her get the car to the side of the road. My husband stayed until her family came.

He is a very good Dad. His children often come to him for blessings. I have witnessed miracles as he has exercised his priesthood in my behalf and that of our family. 

While raising our children he would often help me when they were sick and up in the middle of the night. He has walked the floors and rocked our children many times when they were ill. 

I love to watch him when  he is with our grandchildren and great grandchildren. He loves them so much.
Finally, my dear one is very brave. He has had some severe health issues that he has gone through over the years. He has had great faith and perseverance during these hard moments.

I feel such deep gratitude to have him as my eternal companion and the father of our forever family. I love you Roger with all my heart. 

Happy Father's Day To All Of My Sons, Son in laws and Grandsons~

Top row - My son's; Sean, Travis and James

Middle row - My son in laws; Brandon, Michael and Dave

Bottom row - My grandsons; Jed and Jacob

Each of these dear sons, son in laws and grandsons have brought great joy into my life. They are all good men and great Dads. They each have special qualities that I love about them. They have added much fun and spontaneity to our lives. May they all have a marvelous Father's Day celebration. We love you all!

Revision of a post with added content and pictures - June of 2011 ~