Monday, November 2, 2020
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I wanted to share the eulogy that I gave for my father on the day of his funeral. Words only go so far, but if I can relate even a glimpse of the memories I have with my dad to anyone visiting this page then it is worth everything to me. I encourage you to remember and honor my father for the charismatic, witty, incredibly smart, athletic, musically inclined, overall well-rounded, family man that he was.
"If I could use one word to describe my dad it would be “hero”.
My dad is my hero.
To simply say that I loved him just wouldn’t suffice.
He is my greatest teacher and most cherished friend. I will never find the words to thank him for that gift.
I will also never forget the time in 2012, when we drove up to Rockefeller Center, racing against the clock- to wait in a cold line overnight, on the streets of New York City with only our backpacks and a sleeping bag; all for the unlikely chance at tickets for Saturday Night Live.
Much like when he would use his charming words to move him and my mom to the front row of almost any show, we too got in. It had to be pure luck, I thought. He was our lucky charm.
Music was one of many of his greatest passions in life. It was something we had also always shared together. He could figure almost any instrument out by ear and I thought that was the most amazing thing ever. There was no greater feeling than waking up on a Saturday morning to the smell of my mom making Norwegian pancakes and my dad playing the same “Ziggy Stardust” guitar riff over and over until perfection, and then again even after that.
My dad never failed to warm my heart but he especially did so with the jokes he told. He recited them quite often but the punchline seemed just as fresh every time. I will always be baffled by “The Great Slobini’s” magic tricks. To this day I still try to figure out how you changed the pages in a magical coloring book back to blank pages.
I thank him for passing on his sense of humor and wit to my brothers and I, just as his father and grandfather did for him before that. I’m excited for the day that even I can ask my future children, Where does the general keep his armies?
Up his sleevies.
I love my dad SO much and will continue to love him no differently as I did when he was with us here on Earth. I consider myself lucky to have had the world’s best dad for 23 whole years, and now the world’s best guardian angel. I find comfort knowing that he is home with Jesus, and his grandpop, and that someday we all will rejoin and rejoice as one.
I know he is watching over and protecting us as I speak, overwhelmed by the immense amounts of love radiating from this very room right now— and also probably laughing at how cheesy I told the “where does the general keep his armies” joke.
“Always look on the bright side of life..” he would sing. That is an important thing to remember.
He loved that lighthearted song but loved the message behind it the most.
“If life seems jolly rotten here's something you've forgotten, and that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
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When you're feeling in the dumps- Don't be silly, chumps. Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.”
I love you."
Anna-Lise Davis
