Happy Father’s Day!

June 15, 2014 by Stephanie Potash

Happy Father’s Day to all the great Dads out there.

To help celebrate all the AWESOME Fathers out there we asked staff members to share some of the life lessons they have learned from their Fathers!

From Filocia:

My father was an immigrant from Sicily, Italy. He worked two jobs for many years to provide for his family. With hard work he established his own painting company, which is still in existence.  He was a great father who loved his family very much. We miss him dearly. He taught his children how important family is and to always be respectful. I’m so happy that my son has many memories and stories of his Papa Tony. Happy Father’s Day dad, Antonino Ruffino.

From Mary:

My favorite hat that my dad wore read “Why be normal”… I guess the thing about my dad that I learned was to live simply and appreciate what you have.  His house was filled with his treasures.  Books, old records and tapes and plants.  They were his treasures.

From Sally:

My Dad taught by example. He stressed the importance of tithing your time, talent and money and showed us how to have a rich life. He has taken his old age and failing health with grace. When you visit he will always have a smile and say  it has been a Good Day!

From Jonathan:

One thing I’ve learned from my father that has really stuck with me is to always be myself and not to worry about what other people might think.  He probably deserves some credit for my outgoing personality as well with his ability to walk up to complete strangers and talk as if he has known them for years, which he does often. By simply being himself, no more, no less, he helped mold the optimistic, confident, outgoing man that I have become.

From Hildie:

My dad instilled in me the value of hard work, the value of learning and the value of volunteerism/charity work.  My dad continues to amaze me with his discipline and how hard he works for his goals.  One example of this is when I was a child, my father was overweight.  He made up his mind that he was going to start running to lose weight.   He started with barely being able to run around our block, and then a few years later he was running the Detroit Marathon and the Boston Marathon.  He ran both marathons every year for over 20 years.  A couple years ago, he didn’t qualify for the Boston Marathon at the Detroit Marathon (as he normally does) so he ran a marathon every weekend until he qualified for Boston.  It took him 6 weekends in a row, in 6 different cities, but he finally did it!  My dad has taught me by example that dedication and discipline is so important when it comes to life goals, family, faith, work, and community.