"E" is for Edward!

Welcome to Jenny's. She is our teacher for Alphabe Thursday! Today I want to share my favorite name with you! It is Edward and it is the name my late father carried with his whole life! He loved his name and always said no one would call him Edward unless they were  giving a eulogy at his funeral! He was my dad, my hero, the man I adored! He was a wonderful father. He loved my mom and all of his five kids very much!
He had lots of nicknames. Like "Spike", because he worked for forty seven years at the CF&I Corp. He was the head roller in the rail mill when he retired. He always provided a good income for his phamily and all five of his children attended Catholic school. When I think of the cost that he and my mother endured, she was a stay at home mom, because they chose to send us to the best school.All my siblings attend Catholic school and my middle sister and I are the only two who did not graduate from Catholic high school but from the public school system.
He was "Pa" to my sweet mother. Grandpa to the grand kids.  A lot of my photos of him are tucked away and I need to scan them here but I am sharing some of my favorite photos with you.

Here I am with my parents. My mom was 39 years old when I was born. My dad, 42. I was the youngest of five. I love this photo. I remember my shirt was red!

My father was not highly educated with fancy schooling but he was the smartest man I knew! His handwriting was eloquent and he knew so much about everything. He played semi pro baseball when he was a young man. He was a catcher and good at the sport. I learned every single thing I know about baseball from my dad! He could shoot off facts and names and dates, oh my goodness, it was amazing!

He loved his phamily and was a good provider. He adored his grand children. If he were here today he would be so happy to see all the great grands that we have added to the phamily! Five children, twenty  one grand children, twenty eight great grands and two great great grandchildren. Whew! My dad would smile . He loved children and one of his sisters told me a story about my dad when he was a young man. A neighbor had a baby that died  probably from what is called Sudden Infant Death Syndrome today or possibly influenza. My dad was upset and sad and his mom asked him what was wrong. My aunt said my dad said he loved that little neighbor baby! He was just like that!

That is my dad with his older brother (Rudy) "Uncle Moon". It was my uncles wedding day. He was married to my Auntie Elsie and she worked at the food service for the college at home with two of my moms sisters and my mother-in-law! Talk about all in the phamily! My uncle passed away when he was young. My father made sure my aunt was cared for although she worked full time after her husbands untimely death. My father knew the Scriptures well.  Read 1 Timothy Chapter 5, Deuteronomy 14:28-29,  Acts 6:1, Deuteronomy 15:7-11. They all speak of widows and caring for them and children. My father kept his bible at his bedside. It was a beautiful leather bound copy and I wish I had inherited it from him.
He had a kind heart and was always telling us "honesty is the best policy". People don't say that much these days. He would always say to us, as we headed out the door to go shopping, "Remember, never take anything you didn't pay for!"

He was taken away from us way too soon. He had not been retired 12 years when the Lord called him home. My mother was married to him nearly 50 years when he passed away. She would remain his one true love until the day she herself left this earth. My parents had a beautiful marriage. They were good together and raised us right with respect and kindness and honest hearts. My dad built the home my folks lived in  and he treasured my mother. I often looked for his traits when I was young and dating. My husband is a good fit. He received my fathers blessing before he married me. But my dad was ill and I did not have the wedding I dreamed of, with him giving me away. But before he passed away he saw me happy and married to a good man.

 My parents wedding photo with my mom's brother Uncle Louie and my mom's sister Auntie Ann. My mother was a beautiful petite bride! Look at the exquisite flowers they carried!

Now visit Jenny and all the participates of our weekly learning posts!