Tribute to my DAD

The same day I found out I was pregnant, I found out my dad was going to die.  I had just taken the test, and went to sit down and soak in the news. I was actually looking at baby names when my brother called me.  I immediately knew something was up. A couple days before my mom and I were talking on the phone, and she had mentioned he was not doing well at all.  My brother told me it was time for me to come home if I wanted to say goodbye before he passed away.  I was kind of in denial.  No way could this be happening this fast.  My grandmother had several scares like this and she pulled though. I looked at flights but I couldn't concentrate.  Briant usually looks at tickets because I don't know what a good deal is. I called Briant and asked if he would help me get a flight out the next morning.  He was so calm, and I was not. I had to pack and for who knows how long, in just a few hours.

I was able to make it to Idaho the next day around 1PM I think.  We spent the whole day by his side as a family.  We laughed and cried and shared funny memories.  My dad would have liked that.  We all went to my mom's house to sleep that night except 2 of my brothers. We got a call in the early morning hours that my dad was gone.  He waited for everyone to be out of the room. I was sleeping with my mom and we just hugged and cried.  

We spent the next few days preparing for the funeral.  Finding out more about dad. Briant arranged to fly in for the funeral.  The kids stays with Briant's parents.  They were so young, and I wanted their final memories of their Grandpa to be him smiling. There are more reasons but that was the main one.

The viewing and funeral were great.  The Police Department where my dad worked had Officers there to guard the casket and they changed the guards every 10 minutes.  It was really special.  They were also there to take us to the cemetery. 

Police Department honoring Dad.

My dad was a Navy Veteran.

My family

Almost all of us.

The Boy Scouts of America lined the street with flags to honor my dad.
He spent much of his life supporting scouting and was even presented a Silver Beaver.

The following are the remarks I made about my dad at his funeral:

Memories of my Dad

My remarks from his funeral
March 4, 2017

By Melissa Giles

Life in our house was busy.  With six kids there was always homework to be done, piano lessons, sports, laundry, a garden to care for, chores and food to make. I have many good memories, when I was little, of my dad taking time to spend time with just me. He would ask me to go with him to run errands or help him with a special job.  He always asked my opinion when choices were to be made and that made me feel pretty special.

I remember a couple weeks in the summer where mom had to be gone for a whole week either to go to girl’s camp or some other scout thing. I was too little to go so I was stuck at home with all those boys.  Dad took the time to help me not feel so lonely and gave me a little extra attention.

A couple times a year he took me on daddy daughter dates and I really appreciated his example of how a true gentlemen should treat a lady.

My dad worked very hard to support our family, sometimes holding 3 jobs at once so we could pursue our interests. He fixed a lot of things around our house himself to save money.  We were expected to help out with chores around the house and dad was not shy about teaching us new things or request we do them his way.

All of us kids took piano lessons and that meant there was a lot of practicing at our house.  I remember often times dad sat on the couch and just listened.  My dad never criticized my playing, no matter how many mistakes I made. But, when I was finished he would always say, “Sounds good!”

My dad was always very protective of our family.  He was always the last to go to bed so he could be sure to properly lock up every lock on every door.  Even after I married and had a house of my own, he would remind me to lock up my doors after he left.

One time I got up in the middle of the night to get a drink. All of a sudden I heard my dad getting up.  My dad sleeps in his underwear and I was afraid I would get in trouble for seeing him. I tiptoed over and hid under the table.  Turns out he just needed a drink too, and I decided that while he was preoccupied with that, I would dash to my bedroom and hope he wouldn’t notice.  Once there I quickly jumped in bed and pretended to be asleep.  Little did I know, my dad saw my shadow as I passed in front of the microwave clock. Pretty soon, my dad was shining his flashlight around in my room.  I continued to fake sleep. I thought he would call me out, but he didn’t say anything and pretty soon he went to bed.  The next morning I told my mom what happened and she said, "You better go tell your dad, he was so worried that there was someone in our house and patrolled the whole house last night with his gun!"

My dad was a pretty great guy, he taught me many good and practical lessons that I use every day.  He loved me and taught me to love the Lord through his example, testimony and dedication to the church.  He reflected often and made changes in his life because of the things he learned in the scriptures, and I saw those changes. I know that I am the person I am today because I had a wonderful dad, whom I will never forget.  I hope I can follow in his footsteps. God be with you dad, until we meet again.

2014 - My Dad's last big trip.  He came out to see us and to be there for Callie's blessing.

2016 - Last time my kids got to see my Dad.  This is last time I saw him smile.