Tribute to Bob

Bob passed away last Jan. 31st. This is a tribute to him from my daughter, Jill. (one of my favorite people)

I have always loved my dad's handwriting. After he died we went to his house and I told my brother that I wanted to find something with his handwriting on it that I could keep. I think it was by a small miracle that Nick found an index card where my dad had written his values.

I love this index card. I have it nestled in a coffee cup on a shelf in my dining room.

As is tradition with all of his index cards, dad had drawn his infamous swirly-gig on the back side of the card.  However, I found myself wanting the values bigger and more visible.

                          
I have a friend, Katie, who is a graphic designer (http://www.graphicforte.com/) and she was helping me create the logo on my mom's website (it's cute isn't it?!). Necia, my daughter, and I gave my mom the logo as a gift. As my friend, Katie finished that project, I showed her my dad's index card and told her what I had in mind. She agreed to take on the challenge (and trust me it was a challenge!). She gave me a website to search for the background artwork while she worked on enlarging the font. Within minutes of her leaving my house, I found the perfect artwork. My dad loved nature - so I felt this was symbolic and I liked the abstract-ness of it. The colors also match the throw pillows I have in my den.

Once the graphics were completed, we had them printed on canvas. They now hang above his desk (which my mom reinvented - love it!) in my den. Most people would call it an office, but my dad always had a den!
 

(That's right, vigilance is spelled wrong, can't wait to give him a bad time about that when we meet again.)

                                    
                                                  I had Katie put dad's swirly- gig under the love.

As I considered where to place each of his values on the artwork I had the idea for Katie to add a red flag to one of the trees in the "vigilance" section. My dad was famous for tying red flags to branches so people wouldn't run into them. I think this is my favorite part of the artwork - it makes it more personal.

I also had her add a dove in the upper right hand corner of the "good intent" artwork to symbolize his escape from pain and his flight into the peace and freedom he now has.

I love my papa and I miss him terribly, but this artwork has brought a bright spot into my home and my heart. I love pondering what these words meant to him and reflecting on the ways he portrayed them in his life. His values are my values.

This is my beautiful daughter Jill and her two daughters, my grand daughters Necia and Maizy.
Sometimes the loss of a loved one helps us remember how wonderful life is and how important family is. Couldn't have made it through the past year without the love of family. Thanks kids.