Eulogy

September 17, 1959. On that day, my dad, Jim McCann, was born to a family of 6. To say the least, he led quite an eventful life.

At the young age of 17, he left Pasco Washington to join the military. He served his country faithfully in the army for three years before being honorably discharged. For the next couple years, he worked as a meat cutter. Many a times I heard stories from dad’s days stationed in Germany, and how strong and tough it made him.

In November of 1982, dad joined the Navy. In the next six years he would meet some of his oldest and closest friends. It is said the one only gets a handful of true friends in a lifetime, and boy did dad get his fair share. The navy helped to shape his life into what it became, in the best of ways. It got him a great job at Boeing, which included living in Italy for six months and Hong Kong eleven months.

I must say, when dad told me about living in Italy and backpacking across Europe I was quite envious. Traveling to Europe, as he did, has always been one of my greatest dreams. “When you’ve seen one pile of rocks you’ve seen them all,” he’d joked to me. There it was dad’s humor.

I was surprised when he told me he preferred Hong Kong. Many of us probably know why. There, he met my mom. They dated for a year, and were married in the Philippines in August 26, 1991.

Mom came to the U.S. in 1992. I remember dad’s friends telling me about the first few weeks mom was here, and she wanted Korean food. “Do they sell Korean food here, Jim?” She’d asked innocently.

With a perfectly straight face, he replied, “No honey, Korean food is illegal in Snohomish County.”

So she’d gone a whole year without Korean food, before one of dad’s friends finally told her the truth. Of course it was his friends who told me the story. He wouldn’t want to bring it up.

Years went by, and I was born and raised. Every father and daughter has a different sort of relationship, and ours was a close one. I’m glad we spent much time together, whether it was fishing or me dragging him to the mall. Just recently, we made a trip to a cabin near Spokane. We spent four days there, and I choose that to be my latest memory of him. We were happy together, and our bond shined more than ever.

So in a nutshell, dad lived. He was a soldier, a world traveler, a brother, a husband, a father, a friend, and a good man. I call myself lucky to have called such a person “My Dad”. I just wish I could have understood him better.

            We all have our own special memories of dad. He was one of a kind, and the world is a sorrier place without him. He always made time to spend with me, and our bond was a special one. Every day of my life I will miss him, but he will always stay with me, in my heart.

            I will always treasure the time we spent together, and remember him at his happiest moments. We all know that dad was a complicated soul, but we must look beyond that, to what was in his heart.

            Love for his wife and daughter, loyalty to his friends, and the best of intentions. His time here on earth was not ill spent, and he touched each and every one of us in a different way.

I’m sure we can all recall a time when dad’s unique wit and humor put us in a better mood, and that’s the part of him we should remember. We should remember his love of fishing, and the short-lived JJ Breweries. The way his eyes would twinkle when he was amused, and his loud and unmistakable laughter.

Lets take a moment of silence.