I wanted to post a thread for those of us who would like to remember our Dads who have passed on. (I hope JohnR and the moderators can leave this on the main page through the weekend) It is difficult on Fathers Day for many of us who's Dads have passed on and I thought maybe for those who have lost their Dads they might post a remembrance or a favorite story in their honor. Happy Fathers Day to all.

My Dad has been gone 5 years now. It does not get any easier contrary to what many say.....I miss him more with each passing day. Not a day goes by that he does not drift into my thoughts....remembering some small thing that my Dad may have taught me in my youth to help me along in life. How to change the oil in my car, the proper way to use a paint brush, drive a nail. Simple things that I now find myself teaching my sons. He taught me by example to work hard.....my Dad worked 3 jobs his entire life to make things good for my family....and they were. I was fortunate to have my Dad for over 36 years of my life....many are not that fortunate....I realize how fortunate I was. I never for one moment took my Dad for granted....always realizing how much he cared for us. My last memory of my Dad happens to be a fishing related one. I was at the time living back with my folks as I had seperated and divorced. I had been fishing for stripers for a few years by this time and my Dad knew how much I was enjoying it. I was loading my gear, rods and tackle, into my truck in the driveway in a hurry as I wanted to catch the tide just right. I looked up at the front door and my Dad was standing there watching me with a funny, approving smile on his face. I looked at him for a moment and he just nodded his head and grinned as I jumped in the truck and headed off. That was the last time I saw him as he passed away suddenly just a couple days after that. I always felt that that was his way of saying his goodbye and that he knew how much I loved fishing and that he was happy for me. So though he is gone, he is not forgotten because I owe everything to my Dad.;)

I'm sure he's looking down smiling at that post.:) You just made nothing else seem important.:)

my dad passed away many years ago. my earliest memories are fishing with him when i was 2-1/2 yo, he's the one who got me into fishing. whenever i'm fishing i know he's with me. my son and i always go fishing on fathers day.....and dad makes three.

One of the earliest / best memories was at about 5 or 6 sitting on his lap driving the boat... He's been gone 4 years now.

Lost my dad 25 years ago.. he died on Fathers Day 1981.
Kinda makes it hard to enjoy Fathers Day, for me.

Like you Larry, many fond memories of a man who sacrificed a lot for his family (6 sons). Often working 2, sometimes 3 jobs, or when he owned his own business, often working 80 hour weeks, he still found time to spend with his wife and kids, take me fishing, and gave us all memories of him.

Like the old CSN song... "Teach, your children well."

Funny Karl....my Dad worked so much and yet he always seemed to be there when it mattered most. So I know what you mean.

Yeah, I was thinking of Dad too. I lost him in January of 2004- six weeks after Mom; which seemed terribly wrong then- but not so much now. He got me into my first stripers when I was 4 years old- trolling in the Westport River. I can still hear how he laughed when he pulled up oyster shells as I reeled in the schoolies- telling me until the fish flashed at the boat that I had hung up bottom... The last (fishing related) memories were of him asking me to give him a call on the way home from a trip, to "Let me know how you made out"... I still catch myself reaching for the phone once in awhile as I'm rolling home with fish in the cooler... I really miss having him on board with my son and I when we fish for fluke, as that was his favorite fishing. I'm glad he got to fish with his grandson though, and at 89, he lived a full life, God Bless Him....

My dad passed away suddenly in 1987. I was 17 years old and that seems like a long time ago. My dad wasn't an outside type of guy at all. He was a suit wearing banker who's idea of relaxing on the weekend was not wearing a tie.

When I was probably 14 or so my Dad asked me if he could go fishing with me. I thought nothing about it at t he time and we went to Brownie Beach on Lake Quinsigimond. I still remember watching him trying to cast and reeling in with the spinning reel upside down. Even today, many years later, when I see someone reeling in upside down I remember that moment and chuckle.

Several years ago I bought a maroon windbreaker and hung it by my back door. As a kid, I remember my dad always wore a maroon wind breaker to my ball games and my sisters swim meets and horse shows. That coat is there today, unworn, because it reminds me of my dad. Great thread Larry. Thanks for making my day.

My dad passed in 81..He taught me how to duck . I was a slow learner. When ever he drank alot he liked to give me haircuts. He just kinda staggered around bumping into my head with the clippers. Kids in school gotta kick out of my hair cuts . Weird ,,he didn't fish but always told me when the herring were running.

My Dad passed away 14 years ago and i can still feel his presence when i'm working on projects or remember his expressions. Sometimes, in

certain situations, i feel like him with the same mannerisms and sayings. Ask my wife, she'll tell ya. :) I was very fortunate to have a father

who held character and honesty above all else.

While we all fail as fathers sometimes, i believe most fathers do the best they can with the cards they are dealt. Being a father is the biggest

responsibility we will ever have.

My Dad never fished a day in his life but he made sure that I learned he made his brother in law take me when I was 8 and I thank God everyday that they did :thanks:Happy Farthers Day DAD...

BigFish....Great post. Your dad sounds like a great guy.

I'm lucky enough to still have my father as I'm a little younger than most of you. I'm taking him and his father(94 years young I think) out to lunch for Father's day.

I will however be remembering my mother's father this father's day. He was the best grandfather. He taught me how to fish and crab(chicken leg on a string). He fought in WW2 and then worked for the post office all the way until retirement. My mother always tells me how he would work a a double shift every christmas eve but always make sure he was up for when her and my uncle would open there gifts on Christmas morning. He was someone that never had anything given to him and but was always doing things for people less fortunate than him. I miss him more and more as time goes on but find comfort in the fact that he lived such and admirable life.

With Father's Day approaching, I found it interesting that I should be reading "Wisdom of Our Father's" last night by Tim Russert. If anyone on this board has a father, I would strongly recommend this book as well as "Big Russ and Me".

I have my Dad to thank for me becoming a fisherman. Although he knew nothing about fishing, he knew that Dad's are supposed to take their son's fishing, so that's what he did. We would take a 4 hour charter out of Rock Harbor each summer and for me it was better than Christmas morning. We fished with Larry Doherty on the boat "Hey Dad". My brother and I picked that boat out of all the others in the harbor because we liked the name.

My father owned a restaurant on the lower Cape and the first year he took us he agreed to pay my brother and I $5 for each fish we caught. Well, we caught 21 bluefish, all of which ended up on the menu that week. He paid up and he never made that offer to us again. Now, I take my Dad fishing on my boat, and I thank him each time I do for that gift and others.

I only have a couple of memories of my dad since cancer got him at age 28. The first is me helping to paint the house, granted the term making a mess is far closer to the truth for me. My dad just grinning from time to time. The other I didnt really fully understand at the time but its of one of the neighbors at the front door, all irate at my dad. He was a lineman for the phone company but also had been an electronics/ham radio operator since he was in his teens. So while most people were glued to their newish tv sets in 59 or 60, my dad would play on the radio. Only trouble was his custom antenna was on the garage, inline with the ridge of the roof. When operating he it would swing it out 90 degrees, right over the street.....thereby knocking out the tv reception. My dad's dream in those days was to retire early from the phone company and move to the wellfleet/truro area and open up an electronics fix-it shop and fish in his spare time. He was always fixing things and trading up.
Nice thread Larry........RIP Dads.