Yesterday, descendants of Ben Willis and Levi Latty flocked to Tahlequah to honor our ancestors and get better acquainted with each other. Today is Father’s Day, a good time to remember the values, the strength of character, and the love of family these men left us. Many fathers were in the room; men who worked hard for and loved their children, men who put their own family’s welfare above their own; men who, whether consciously or unconsciously, followed the examples of Ben and Levi.
I think of my own father often but particularly remember and miss him on this day each year. To me, Dad was the ultimate protector, the rock who was always the same, the person who stood between me and danger. He was my hero. I miss his sense of honor, those songs he sang and the jigs he danced, the riddles and stories, the example he set for integrity, strength of character, and the value of hard work and honesty.
He left a shining example for his sons and grandsons to follow and they have done well. My own son, a wonderful father in his own right, reminds me often of Dad as he shepherds his family, putting their needs above his own.
On Father’s Day, it is good to also remember and honor Mom. I am of the opinion that a caring father and mother, devoted to each other and their children, are the core of this great country. That is not to say that one parent can’t care for family; they certainly can but it is harder. Mothers and fathers heading up each family unit is the way God planned it and the way that works best.
I’m grateful for Dad, Bob Day, and if I had searched the world over, I could not have found anybody else I’d rather have had for my father, the man who I called Daddy.
“The just man walketh in his integrity; his children are blessed after him” (Proverbs 20:7).
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