Over the past three years, my Stepdad, John Samuel Anderson and I became very close. My sister and my Dad were closer because she saw him or talked to him almost daily; I lived thousands of miles away most of my life. I moved to Florida in 2017 when my brain disorder worsen to be closer to my family as my health was declining. What I loved most about my Dad, he never called me or my sister his Stepdaughters but his Daughters. So I never called him my Stepdad but Dad. He came into our lives when I was in junior high school and I never really appreciated his presence in our home during those years. But what I do remember during those years, I always felt safe around him. Most men, including my biological father, sexually abused me so I was guarded in the presence of men. My Dad and Mom were married for 35 years before she went home to be with the Lord in 2012.

This is a picture taken at my sister’s home during Thanksgiving 2019. We had a wonderful time laughing, listening to Dad’s jokes, playing Bid Whist, and Spades, my Dad’s favorite card games. You would never know by this picture Daddy had terminal cancer which was in his lungs, liver, and other parts of his body. He was that kind of man who never complained, even when he was in pain right before he went to be with the Lord. My Dad was a pastor, entrepreneur, fisherman, who loved people, and life. He was the kind of man who gave to you from his heart, never expecting anything in return. Dad and I bumped heads sometimes because we both loved Jesus and the Word of God. We loved to have spiritual debates which made others uncomfortable, but in the end, we always allowed love and our relationship to prevail!

In February 2020, my Dad’s health was declining. My husband, Tony, and I drove to Albany, GA to visit my Dad. While with my Sister, Tonyea, Brother, Ralph, and Stepbrother, Billy, were with him we had our final Holy Communion together: my Stepsister, Gwen left the day before. As Dad sat on the couch, I read this passage of scripture to him, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (Amplified Bible).

¹⁶Therefore we do not become discouraged [spiritless, disappointed, or afraid]. Though our outer self is [progressively] wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure (surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor, and an endless blessedness)!

¹⁸ So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.

I can’t thank my Sister, Tonyea and Brother, Ralph enough for giving of themselves, finances, and resources to care for our Dad over the years! You both are simply Awesome! I know the sacrifices you guys made a million ways and so does our Lord… I love you and I am so grateful for you both!!

Over the years, my Aunt, Catherine, a retired Registered Nurse, took care of Dad. She took him to his appointments, administered his medicine, sat with him for hours caring for him. I am grateful for his sisters, Aunt Lottie and Aunt Freddie who provided meals for him. My Dad’s brothers, Uncle Ted, Uncle Charles, and Treskall, my niece came to visit him before he moved to Florida.

I am so honored to be part of Ordella Wright’s life. She was my Dad’s childhood girlfriend, loving Sister in Christ, and companion. They reunited in September 2012, two weeks later after my mother went home to be with the Lord and her husband within weeks of each other. She also was a pastor and they enjoyed praying and sharing the Word of God. Their favorite past time was Maj Jong. They loved each other and I had the privilege of sharing in their glorious relationship. They made me laugh all of the time! They were like little boyfriend and girlfriend, even though they never owned up to that fact.

In March, we all saw Dad needed 24-hour care, so March 18, 2020, my husband and I drove to bring him to Florida to live out his final days with us. What an amazing gift our Dad was to the both of us! We prayed together, read scriptures, and sang to him each day. VITAS Hospice care team came to our home to help care for our Dad; what an amazing gift they are and were in our Dad’s two weeks of transition. On March 31, 2020, Tony and I woke up to say goodbye. We called his loved ones on the phone to either talk, sing to him, or FaceTime with him before he went home to be with the Lord. At 6:40 pm, Daddy went home to be with his Lord and heavenly family! WHAT A WONDERFUL TIME OUR DADDY IS HAVING RIGHT NOW AND FOREVER! I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HIM AND MOM AGAIN.

I don’t want to end on a sad note but a funny one. Here is one of Dad’s favorite jokes, with Tresca’s touch.

THE PARROT AND THE LADY

A man had a parrot in his pet store. He sat on his perch near the cash register where everyone could see him when they entered the store. He loved to talk and the customers were in awe of his abilities. One day a lady walked into the store and the parrot looked at her and said, “Lady, you are soooo ugly!” The lady was angry and embarrassed as the other customers were holding their mouths trying not to laugh. The lady said to the parrot, “That is so mean of you to say those words! Where is your owner?” The parrot got quiet and pretended he couldn’t talk. The owner came from the back of the store and noticed his customers were acting strangely. The lady yelled at the owner and said, “Your bird is so rude! You should do something with him!” The owner baffled by her statement, asked, “Ma’am what are you talking about?” The lady replied, “Your parrot told me that I was ugly!” The owner looked at the lady, then at his parrot and said to her, “I am so sorry he said that I will make sure he doesn’t say that to you ever again.” The owner took the parrot in the back of the store and scolded him for saying those mean words to the lady.

The next week, the lady returned to the store to pick up bird feed for her birds. The parrot saw her as she approached the cash register. He didn’t say a word to her, however, as she was leaving the store, the parrot said, “Yeah, YOU KNOW!”

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We end this blog, saying, Dad, WE KNOW… you are in the arms of our Lord, forever singing and dancing with the angels. WE KNOW you have no more pain or suffering as you enjoy living in the presence of our Father, Lord Jesus, and Holy Spirit forevermore!! CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU!!