You are my Father

As I was searching for a poem to help me explain how I felt I found this and it explains everything so well. At the end I did change the author's name to mine.

You are my Father

I will not look at this as a goodbye.

I will not allow the sorrow of this event to destroy me.

I will embrace what you have taught me through the

years and carry that with me.

You have not died. You will forever be a part of my life,

and through me you will forever be a part of my

children's as well. We are your legacy.

I am proud to have had you in their lives.

I hope they inherit your charm, your good nature, and your

charisma. I know with your influence they will grow to

become good men.

You have raised me to the best of your ability

and for that I want to thank you.

Thank you for being kind, thank you for being stronger than

you know, and most of all, thank you for loving us.

You have inspired me to live life to the fullest,

and never back down.

I will not be taken over by the anger and

frustration of your loss.

Instead, I will remember the days when I was young

and you were my hero.

I will see you in my dreams.

There you will forever be healthy and strong.

In time, I hope to embrace your freedom, freedom from the

pain, and freedom from the weight of your illness.

Sorrow is inevitable, but I will face this with the same

courage you did, because I am you, and you are my Father.

Always your daughter, Emily

Dad with his namesake, baby James

My boys hiking in Vegas

As I sit here with tear streaked cheeks I think of how much I have loved my father. I feel so lucky to have had a father, to have known him. He was not perfect and we did not always see eye to eye, but nonetheless he always supported me. I will miss that support as I continue through my life. I only hope that I can give that same unwavering support to my children. No matter what I had chosen he was always there to back me up. He might not have agreed with me but he supported me. How I enjoyed staying up late with him talking and reading. How I knew no matter what time it was when I called that he was always ready to talk to me. He gave me great advice, he may not have been great at following his own advice, but he gave great advice. I will miss him calling and singing happy birthday and happy anniversary to me! I will miss his loud voice ringing through his office. I will miss his boxes of dollar store items for birthday gifts, the boys loved these by the way, wrapped in comics. But most of all I will miss his strong hugs. His hugs always felt warm and protective. Nothing could harm me while I was in one of his bear hugs. I love you Daddy and I will miss you greatly!

James Barry Juenger

July 15, 1950-November 30, 2010