Friday, 25 January 2013
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Dad's birthday, and genes
Today my dad would be 85.
His parents were German immigrants. His dad, an alcoholic, worked in the Akron tire factories, and died before I was born. His mom became mentally ill when Dad was a child, and spent the rest of her life in and out of institutions. I met her when I was six, at a hospital in Ohio. She died a few years later while we were in Colombia.
With so much turmoil in his family of origin, one of Dad's ambitions was to establish a warm, healthy family. After he met the Lord, he wanted to be a missionary. In college he met my mom, who had similar values, and they married and began reproducing. Five kids later, they went to the Andean city of Pasto, Colombia, where they adopted a sixth, my brother Dan. We moved to the jungle town of Puerto Asís, then later to Medellín, Colombia's second-largest city. Two more sisters were adopted while I was in college.
Dad had an incredibly productive career, establishing and pastoring churches, teaching and counseling at the Universidad de Antioquia, speaking at retreats and conferences, writing books (textbooks, family counseling, missionary research), recording radio programs, an orphanage and a lunch program, building cabinets (carpentry was one of his hobbies), and more activities than I can remember. After retiring to the US in 1994, he continued to write and speak and teach until his death in 2010.
His genes live on. This is my daughter Hannah, next to her Papa Paul.
(You can see a sequence of family pictures here.)
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Comments (21)
wonderful family pictures.
Wow, only now am I seeing Hannah's resemblance to Dad! Very distinctive--she even has a feminine version of that squared-off chin.
My recollection is that he was EIGHT when he witnessed his mother being carted off to a psych hospital in a straitjacket--after she had run around the house with a butcher knife threatening to kill people. Either way, he overcame amazing odds to become a man who gave so much to others.
What a wonderful legacy!
That's an amazing life.
I see some of his features in your face, as well. You're a handsome family.
Your father learned from his own father's experience and made a life for himself. And that alone is good genes. It is amazing how some people learn from their predassors and better their own life.
I've often thought you had a fascinating childhood - It's nice to read a little more about it. I love the family shot up there. Warms my heart! (which is good because we're in the middle of an ice storm day here!)
It sounds like your dad achieved his goals and gave you a good childhood.
happy birthday, Paul! that's a wonderful procession of photos, Tim. your father definitely was blessed. and you are, too.
Wow! Happy Birthday to your father, you can see the resemblance!
Sounds like your Daddy is a wonderful guy and what a wonderful post I bet he is eating cake in heaven and smiling down on you
That's a wonderful background. There are so many in this world who have nothing like that to look back upon. You are blessed.
Such an awesome person. WOW! How lucky you are.
Lovely photos. =)
Tim you look so much like your father. What a great family you had with your parents, and the way they could distribute their love for their children, biological and adopted. What an honor to have parents like them.
And now I shall go see the rest of the photographs.
I went to the 2010 post and left a comment there about the family pictures. Loved them. Thank you for posting them.
i like that everyone in the photos has a smile :]
your daughter is just beautiful. We do think of our lost ones on these special anniversaries..
I see that you have your dad's lips, and Hannah has your dad's eyes and brows.
Your father was a wonderful man and he did make his dream come true in establishing a great family.
The pictures are very' speaking'.I see that you have the same strange Chinese comments that I had in my site( Deleted).Quite a wonderful blog Tim..I really enjoyed reading it!