It’s been almost two months since my Dad lost his battle to lung cancer.  I couldn’t post a blog after his passing.  I really didn’t know what to write about, nor had the energy for it.  It’s tough to write about someone you love about their passing, because it brings back all the great memories you’ve had.  But now, I think it’s time to for me to write again.  And to start off, I’ll post the speech I did for my Dad.  Here it goes:

Why?  Why did God have to take my Dad?  If everything has a reason, then why did He give my Dad lung cancer?  These are some of the questions that kept lingering on my mind.  You get these mixed emotions, negative feelings, loss of faith.  So I asked my wife the same questions.  Then I finally realized, because my wife told me, that Dad already served his purpose in life.  Then friends told me that he lived a good life… and he did.  So thank you all for making me understand.

But the pain and this feeling of emptiness seem unbearable.  It’s difficult to adjust our lives without my Dad.  He was a great Dad, a great husband, great Popop for Avery and a great friend for many people.

If there is a fight better than any boxing match it was my Dad’s fight with lung cancer.  It wasn’t just 12 rounds of right hooks and uppercuts but a year and two months of radiation and chemo.  His fight was longer than any of his doctors have predicted him to live, coz my Dad was always a fighter.

My fondest memory with my Dad is singing karaoke with him.  Whenever there was a party, Dad would always grab the karaoke mic first rather than the spoon and fork.  He would always learn to play in the keyboard the songs he would sing.  He was also great in sports.  I could never forget his unbelievable shots in pool and his wild hook shots in basketbal.

With all the people gathered here today, I am amazed at how a man with few words can touch so many lives.  Though my father will not be physically here anymore, he will always be alive in our memories and in our hearts.

And as my father gave his name to me, I will carry on with all the gifts he left us; how a husband he was to my mom, how a dad should be to his children, the glory is sacrificing and putting others first, the passion for music and outdoors, and to never give up all the battles you are faced with.  If I could be half the man, the father, the husband, the friend my father was, then he did not die in vain.

Sleep warm Dad, sleep tight, sleep well.  I love you.  We love you.  Always have and always will.

October 10, 1944 – December 10, 2008