William J Wagoner - 19 July 1932 - 24 December 1983

so


i would like for you to meet my dad. while searching for photos of dad in my vast library of family photos, i was hard pressed to find enough photos to make a good slideshow. it was not because my dad was camera shy or anything, it was because dad was almost always on the business end of the camera. while i am very grateful for the plethora of images of my siblings, mothers, cousins and me, i sure do wish i had as many of him as i do of me.


my dad was the hardest working man i have ever known. with eight kids to raise, one being confined to a wheelchair, and being him self-employed, dad had to spend most of his time working. working that much did not stop dad from being very involved in all of our lives. all the family trips, the projects around the house and yard, and all the other innumerable things that my dad managed to be right in the middle of are the happiest memories of my life.

with my eidetic memory it is very nice and very happy making to finally be able to look back on my life and remember the good times. until you have been denied the ability to feel happiness for as long as i have been, you cannot know how empty it feels to feel no happiness, and how just being happy is an indescribable joy. as i watched this video to make sure it was just right i found myself crying through the entire show. all of the memories of the times i spend with my dad poured all over my heart.

it brought to mind my favorite memory of my dad. dad had a business trip to take to philiadelphia, and he took me, and only me with him. since it was a business trip and he had meetings to attend, dad gave me some cash and set me loose on the streets of historic philiadelphia. i spent that day touring every historic landmark in that city. i met dad for lunch and told him a bit about my adventures, and then we split and he went to another meeting and i finished my tour. all the way home i talked his eras off with my stories of that day.

i really miss my dad. i was only twenty when he passed away and i have always felt cheated by life for taking him so early in all of our lives. i feel cheated that he never got to meet my wives or my children. i feel cheated that he is not here today to see the man i have become.

yes, i miss my dad very much and i always will.

i love you, daddy

your son
willie
💝💜💝