Wonderful Man/Wonderful Father

D. W. Lacy

Early pictures of my dad are scarce. But I do have one of him while he was attending Colorado Springs Bible Training School (the name of this school was later changed to Colorado Springs Bible College). He was eighteen years old at the time the picture was taken.

Dad - back, second from left.

It was always "Daddy and Mama." Like a horse and carriage, they functioned as one.

D. W. Lacy and Vera Lauretta Morrell Lacy - their wedding day and their fiftieth anniversary.

As far as I know, there is only one picture in existence of my Daddy holding me as a child. Our family never owned a camera and I do not know who took this picture.

Daddy and Mama, David (brother), and me in front of our home in Bladen, Nebraska. I was one year old.

Dad was serious about his work, but he also enjoyed a good time. As a minister, Dad wore a white shirt and tie unless he was involved in yard work or fixing things. So it was never surprising to see him doing an activity while wearing a tie. When he stayed in our home for extended periods of time during his later years, he dressed up every day. Our neighbors had something to talk about when our house guest, dressed in a suit and tie, walked our little dog.

Playing horseshoes at the camp ground.

Dad went with our family on several weeklong vacations after Mom passed away. We enjoyed having him with us at a North Carolina beach, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and at a lake resort in Michigan. While in Michigan our family took a day trip to Mackinaw Island. It was Dad’s first trip there and he enjoyed it immensely.

Dad, pictured with Hubby, on a carriage tour of Mackinaw Island. The reason I don’t have pictures of Dad and me (even after I became an adult) is because I seemed to always be the one taking the pictures.

Dad always had his own special way of getting important things accomplished.

• When, as a second-grader, I wanted a bicycle, Daddy beat the low family budget by becoming a scavenger at the city dump. He found old bikes from which he collected a frame and parts. These he used to construct my one-of-a kind, bright red envy of the neighborhood girls. It was much later that I learned the bike was not new.
• When my brother and I wanted a sled, no problem. Daddy spent his spare time in the garage making a sled from scrap lumber. After he honed and polished the runners, he waxed them with paraffin. Perfect for skimming over deep snow and rough terrain! A rope was attached to the steering mechanism and we enjoyed many hours of fun on the snowy slopes of Colorado.
• When, as a child, I had migraine headaches, Daddy massaged the base of my neck and head until I relaxed and the pain was dulled.
• When, at sixteen, I received a letter from a boyfriend informing me that because I had not been willing to cancel plans with my family and do what he wanted to do on the Fourth of July, he did not plan to date me anymore. Daddy, wise man that he was, took me out for a coke and told me that any guy that selfish was a “knucklehead” totally unworthy of my time. I was smiling by the time we got in the car to head back home.
• When purchasing anything for himself, Daddy did not value designer names or shop at high-end stores. He never wanted to do anything that would endanger the security of his family. When I was helping him pack some things so he could come to our home to spend a few weeks, I found, still in gift boxes, very expensive white shirts that both my sister and I had purchased for him. When I asked him why he had not worn them, he let me know that the shirts he was wearing were not yet worn out. "Waste not, want not” was his motto even when he was not putting out his own cash.

Daddy and Mama were one-of-a-kind originals and great examples for their kids to follow. Special days of celebration always cause me think about their lives and pray that some of what they modeled is reflected in my life.

Image: Carson Dellosa Clipart