Nov 15, 2016 3 min read

Our family suffered a tremendous loss over the weekend as my father, Donald Emery, passed away at the age of 83. Dad was truly one of the good guys and was the best man I know. He never missed work, never complained, never got sick until the very end, hardly ever raised his voice, rarely swore and was regularly heard whistling a happy tune.

Our house was filled with laughter and music thanks to both of my parents. It was comforting to come home from school and hear mom practicing the piano. Laughter came from both mom and dad and sometimes followed stories they’d tell us about their childhood or early married life. They married the week after college graduation and spent their honeymoon in Quantico, where dad started officers’ training in the Marine Corps.

Mom told the tale of her working all day to bake a layer cake with white icing for a dinner with Marine Corps couples. She put it in the cake carrier they had received as a wedding gift and dad started toward the car. He stopped to lock the apartment door and when he turned, the switch that locked the base to the lid got caught on his topcoat’s pocket.

Splat!!

The base dropped and cake splattered everywhere, with the neighbor’s dog pouncing to lap it up. What could they do? They laughed and bought a pie to take for dessert.

Dad was the best father a kid could have. He taught us right from wrong, showed us love and affection and always provided for us. When we were little, he would play with us after dinner each night. Summer vacation meant the Jersey Shore and spending all day in the water with dad riding waves and building sandcastles. I got my love of sports from dad, and we listened to Bob Prince call Pirates games on the radio sitting on the porch.

Mom was a choir director, and we would sing the anthem “Joy In The Morning” on Easter. One Easter after church, we started our drive to Florida to visit relatives. We thought we’d find a motel along the way, but the mass Snowbird migration north began that weekend, with every hotel room along I-95 filled. We drove and drove, then finally pulled off to sleep in the car.

After an hour of tossing and turning, at 2 a.m., we decided to get coffee at the Waffle House then keep driving. Our waitress greeted us with a facial expression that showed she would rather have been anywhere but there. We ordered and she walked away. Dad looked at us with that ornery grin of his, and his eyes twinkled. He said, “Did you see her name tag? It said Joy. There’ll be Joy In The Morning!” We all burst out laughing.

Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.