My Dad’s tribute:
I don’t suppose this is going to go very far, but I make this for a few reasons;
- I believe my Dad would have expected me to say a few words in his tribute,
- I believe there are other people in the world who are going through the same pain of losing someone very dear to them that might find some words of comfort here in this video.
- And lastly, I do this because until I do this, the case is still not closed.
He always said he didn’t want to live to the point that he would be in need of others for physical help, that he wouldn’t be dragged from one hospital to another and that he would live and enjoy his life in good health, he didn’t want to get old in a sense that he would be incapable of doing things on his own. He certainly got that wish. Apart from a couple of occasions that my family took him to doctors, he never needed hospitalisation, and never consumed any regular medicine until he contracted the Covid 19 on the 16th of September 2021 and after two weeks of battle with it on 30th of September he surrendered his life to his creator. This was after him not wanting to go to doctors, but my family took him to the hospital and after a series of treatments including Remdesivir
What a gentleman, what a beautiful, worthy all around husband, what a faithful, protective, strong, wise, clever, handsome, knowledgeable, kind, righteous, godly, and honest father. NO ONE can ever replace him! He will be ever missed.
He was very proud of me and my achievements in life, he was proud of all his children and he often said he was satisfied and happy with them all.
My god on earth if that’s not blasphemy. I always wished I could serve him back for all the things he did for me, but I never managed to do even a percentage of what I owed him, and even if I could, he never needed or expected it anyway.
He lived all his life with that principle that he should stand on his two feet and never be in need of anyone’s help, which is exactly what he did to the last minute. Everyone owed him something, but he never owed anyone anything.
My Dad as well as providing and fathering us, his 6 children with me being the last and the least of them, he also supported and accommodated a lot of others at different times during the span of his very much fruitful life, some of whom were not much younger than himself, and some even older than him. They ranged from his own relatives or my mother’s relatives, their friends, neigbours, to total strangers.
My father wasn’t a rich man, he didn’t have gold, silver, a lot of land and a big mansion, but what he had he shared with many.
He had a rich and very generous heart, he was by no means a millionaire, but his door was always open to friends and family. He wouldn’t withhold anything from you if he could help you out in anyway.
My father was a very strong and firm person. He was very clever with a high IQ and sharp with such a personality that no one who knew him ever dared to entertain the thought of poking fun at him, or trying to take advantage of him in anyway or shape, but they all had and still have high respect for him.
He knew the personality, character, traits and even the thoughts of everyone around him full well. He was better than any psychologist.
When you know the deep intentions of someone’s heart, it’s difficult to love a lot of people, as it says in Genesis 8:21; “every inclination of the human heart is evil “, however, my father knowing people’s heart, he still had so much love for everyone around him,
His character in particular his unconditional love for his wife and children, his forgiveness, his generosity and sacrificial mind-set were the reason I could understand the love of God and the concept of God’s ultimate sacrifice.
He loved my mother so much he was heard calling for my Mum on his hospital bed every night while he was there gasping for air as the virus had taken over his lungs. He was worried for my mother and his children as they all had contracted the virus.
I unfortunately wasn’t there to be of any help. I was stuck here in England with no means to travel to be there. I always wonder if he would be still with us today had I been able to be with him! I know for sure if he wasn’t taken to the hospital and a series of wrong decisions weren’t made, he’d be with us today and would live many more years still in good health.
His advices for people who sought his advice including his own children were priceless.
As I’d said to him on many occasions, his words of wisdom should be written in gold and framed in gold.
He was a true and genuine gentleman.
He never brought his high standards down, and never trampled over his godly principles.
It was as though God’s law was truly written on his heart as he was truly aware of it, and practised it in all his life.
Very much forgiving, having no grudge against anyone even those who hurt him one way or the other. There were many some of whom are still alive, whom my Dad shared his bread with, but they betrayed him either knowingly or unknowingly, but my father forgave them, and when he forgave them of something, he never mentioned it ever again.
His love and forgiveness were that of Jesus Christ even before he knew anything about Christ. Love and forgiveness were part of his nature and were engrained in him.
He never borrowed anything from anyone even when he needed help, he never even took any loans out, but he lent to people who came to him without any hesitation, some never paid him back, but he forgave them, and never talked about it.
My father earned the respect of everyone whom he had come in contact with, these were people from all walks of life. Male and female, young and old, rich and poor. To this day, people are still coming and saying to us that they had never seen or heard of my Dad doing any wrong to anyone.
He considered and treated his in laws his own brothers and sisters, and they all respected him, and looked up to him in almost every area of their lives, but I don’t believe any of them of them actually treated him as their own brother- as he treated them- rather a rival to compete with.
My Dad never bullied anyone, but he wouldn’t let anyone bully him or take advantage of him in anyway or shape either. He was never scared of anyone or anything even death, but he had the fear of God in his heart, and you could only see that in his actions throughout his entire life.
He was a very strong man to his last days, strong mind, soul and spirit. A strong willed person with purpose in life and an abundance of love for his family.
He was very much a level-headed person; you could have a heated argument with him over something now and next minute, you could be rest assured that he would still; be there if you needed him. He would never hold that against you or mix the two in anyway.
He was not only my father, but a close friend and mentor to all of us as his children.
It would be impossible for me to list the things that I learnt from him that I would have never learnt otherwise. Things that cannot be found in any book in any library.
He always encouraged us to study further and further, and always supported us to achieve our potentials.
He put aside many of the pleasures of life that he could rightfully have for the sake of us, he literally sacrificed his life for his children even to the last minute of his life.
He didn’t even want me to know he was in the hospital for the sake of me not worrying about him.
I’m so certain that my life would have taken a totally different course, had it not been for him being my loving father. I don’t know where I would have been, but I know for sure it couldn’t and wouldn’t have been better than what it is now.
Isaiah 57:2
1The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil. 2Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest, lying down in death.
Corinthians 15
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.”[c] Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”[d]
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”[e] 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[f]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we[g] bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[h]
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[i]
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Pictures of my Dad from different era’s of life
