Honoring Fathers

On this Father’s Day, we pause to honor the steadfast presence that so many fathers, and father figures, bring to our lives. They’re the early morning alarm clocks, the after-hours homework helpers, and in the case of my dad, the person who always made sure my car was full of gas. Dads teach us resilience not just through words, but through example.

Ten years ago, my dad spent a quiet Father’s Day visiting my mom in the senior living facility she moved into following a debilitating stroke. The only gift he requested from his kids that year was for some of us to join him in his hometown of Tipton, Iowa in early July, 2015, celebrating the town’s 175^th anniversary and his high school reunion. These were trips my mom often accompanied him on, but this year she couldn’t.

I made the drive there from my Chicago area home with my two boys and their dad, joined by my cousin Patricia and her mom, and my younger siblings with their oldest sons, who were preschoolers at the time. We enjoyed a day of jumpy tents, fried food, and a tour of my dad and my uncle’s high school, looking through old yearbooks to see that my dad and his older brother Jim, Patricia’s dad, were in nearly every school play and on every sports team. Then we walked through town as my dad pointed out his childhood home and other special landmarks.

We have great photos, and even better memories, of that day spent in Tipton, Iowa. We talked of joining him on future reunion visits, finally appreciating how meaningful this place was to him. What we couldn’t have known was that this visit was the only opportunity to join him on a Tipton HS reunion visit. He lost his fight against lung cancer seven months later, in February 2016.

My dad was a man of deeds more than words. I wrote about the close bond he maintained over the years with another Tipton HS classmate, Jim Hagen. My parents would visit Jim and his wife, Mary, as they moved around the East Coast over the years. His dedication to friends and family inspires me to celebrate milestones and visit others when I can.

Whether they’re biological dads, stepdads, or other father figures who stepped into those shoes—today—Father’s Day, is for them. Their guidance often arrives in the simple, powerful act of showing up, every single day.

Cheers to the dads who lead with love, we celebrate you today and always. Happy Father’s Day. 💙