As many of you know, my Dad died in May. May 16th to be exact.

Well, after much planning, we had his “Celebration of life” party last Sunday.

My Dad was a big fan of the Hawaiian Islands and anything tropical. So we invited about 200 of his friends, family, business associates and acquaintances to a big party. We requested that everyone wear something tropical and come ready to eat and drink. We asked that the club we had it at, make tropical drinks (Mai Tai’s and Blue Hawaii’s) and we had a really nice buffet for everyone to feast on.

My brother made a great slide show of my Dad’s life, and I made a movie of the same with some of the video we captured over the years. My Mom and my Sister made these really nice picture boards of his life and my Sister-in-Law had tropical flowers flown in from Hawaii for the event. We even got lai’d. With real authentic ones.

We had several of my Dad’s friends, family, and neighbors come up and talk about their experiences with my Dad. In the end, I think everyone had a great time. Considering the circumstances, of course.

We still mourn my Dad everyday. And after this party, I realize that my Dad had a huge impact on a lot of peoples lives. Not just my own. It was nice to hear stories I had never heard, and funny circumstances my Dad was a part of.

All in all, it really was nice. I know that seems strange when your talking about someones death, but that is exactly what it was. Nice.

Now that the family is back in their respective locations, and everyone has gone their separate ways, I can only hope that each of them took a small piece of my Dad with them, and he continues to live on in their hearts and minds. I know I will NEVER forget my Dad. I only hope that my memories of him stay as strong as they are right now. Just with a little less pain.

Thanks Dad for being such a great guy. We love you and we miss you terribly.

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