Not many people really knew my Dad. The public man and the private man were two different things. As a boss he played his role well, you messed around you knew about it. He was a very honest man, straight talking, you knew where you were with him at all times. If you didnt like what he said then it was your choice to be offended, because you could bet your last pound it was the truth. He expected people to behave the way he would, to hold the same values and when they didnt he was affronted. He was a great hater of injustice, hugely defensive of his family and those who needed and relied upon him. I couldnt have asked for a better Father. Not many people get so lucky, I had an almost perfect childhood. Although my parents could row with the best of them their intense love for each other was so obvious, I could never imagine them not being together. They held each other up, in fact, when my Mum and Dad first made a go of things he told her she had saved his life, I think that pretty much sums up their union. Love, dedication and reliance on each other, they made the perfect team. To me I always saw Dad as strong, so brave. He would have terrible accidents at work but just carry on working, I worried about him all the time. He was such a hardworker, never slacked off and barely missed a day in his working life. As a child, he was there to carry me round at night, kissing my cheek when I didnt want to sleep, cleaning my grazes with tcp and and an endless supply of plasters. Giving me firemans lifts to bed and making me eggy bread cut into fancy shapes when I wouldnt eat anything else. As an adult he was there to wipe my tears when boys let me down, held me up when my knees went from under me at the loss of my Grandmother, treated my children with all the loving, tender kindness that any human being could ever show to another. Made me laugh with his dry, silly sense of humor. He could bring daftness to any situation, if he was stood here now, you could bet he would be cracking a joke. He has struggled against ill health all his life. As a new born he was not expected to live 12 hours, by 18 he had an enlarged heart. That makes sense to me, no one had a bigger heart than my Dad. He always found it a surprise he was still alive, and always grateful for every moment. The last few years were tough on his body, and its started to fail him and let him down more and more. But the fighting spirit never swayed, his sheer will to survive, to fight through the pain, to keep smiling and to stay by his families side prevailed until his body could hold on no more. His medical caregivers were moved by his cheerfullness through the bad times My Dad was my hero, my rock, my comforter, the cement holding my family together. My Mum has lost her soulmate and we have the biggest, gaping hole in our lives that nothing could ever fill. To say we are heartbroken is the biggest understatement. How we go on living without him I dont yet know, but we will do it for him, because we were his greatest creation, and we owe him so much. I will love you forever Dad, will miss you tomorrow as much as today and every day for the rest of my life. It was a privelidge to call you my Dad, I am so proud to be your daughter. Goodbye and Godbless Dad, until we are together again, I love you