This is our first Father’s Day without our dad, Thomas Eddy. Dad went home to be with the Lord, October 2021. It’s a little bittersweet, I had dad for 61 years. Mom always says I knew him better than they did. I don’t know about that, but I sure miss my Poppa Bear. I’m writing just to unpack my thoughts, which are overwhelming. This will be brief, it’s giving me the opportunity to express my, our love for dad.
I think I can speak for all my siblings, Thomas JR, Debbie, Colleen, and Pinky. We had the best dad ever, but then, I have nothing to compare, except for Uncle Raymond (dad’s brother) our second dad. Dad had so many spiritual children as well as nieces, nephews, and our friends that thought of him as a dad. He really loved the Lord, his family, he was full of wisdom and funny.
We prayed to the Lord for years that dad would give his heart to the Lord. Oh, my goodness when he became a Christian, he was all in. The old things were passed away, all things became new. He taught himself how to read, he began to read the bible. He became a Deacon in his church, memorized scripture. He shared the gospel with anyone that would listen. Dad had Alzheimer’s, but he was full of the Spirit of the Lord. He was still quoting scriptures, praying, and worshipping until his last days.
When we were kids, we always had family trips. He wanted to do for us what his parents were not able to do for him. He always said, the Lord gave him everything he asked for when he was young, a good wife, house and kids. If I had a $1. for every time he said, “Lord, what am I going to do with all these girls,” I would be rich. He loved his “Shorty,” his nickname for mom. He loved Mom even as Christ loved the church, he was willing to lay his life down for Mom. I have seen him in action, I know that to be true. In a few days, they would have celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary.
Dad was what they called, “Street Smart.” He knew what was going on in the streets. He prepared us for street life as we grew up on the streets of DC. He could “read” people, he knew if you were up to no good, you could not pull the wool over his eyes, he knew. He used to pull his grands to the side, and say, “Come on over here and let me school you.” They remember his conversations and say, Grandad told me this or that, he always encouraged them and us. He always wanted us to do what was right, forgive and love one another. He certainly was the glue that held us together. Not that we are becoming unglued, but we need some more stickums, (is that a word?) LOL
He was so funny, I remember him saying, “Everything that sits on a Ritz is good, he sat on the Ritz.” When my son, Dominick graduated from South Carolina State University, we are sitting in the bleachers, the Professors were announcing the names of the graduates as well as their honors. Dad said, “There’s a lot of people here named Cum Laude.” We thought we would fall out; we could not stop laughing. One of Colleen’s favorites, she would ask him how he was doing. He would always say, “Old soup, warmed up again.” Mom’s favorite, the day after our birthdays, he would call us and say, “Your birthday gone.” One of Pinky’s favorites, dad would call her and say, “I feel like spending a $1,000 today and she would say, let’s go!” Oftentimes they did.
There’s a lot I can say about dad, affectionately known as Holmes, Hollywood, Grandad, or Grandpa by his grands. I know they all miss him as much as we miss him. Dad always said, God got this, he was right, God has got this, (life, cares, concerns, everything.) He used to tell me, “When I’m gone, you all will be talking and laughing about me for years to come.” He was right, he certainly left behind a legacy. Selah!