GREAT MEN
On this Father's Day, June 15, 2014, it is with great love and honor that I pay special tribute to the great men in our lives. It all begins with our incredible Father,
Kent Derricott
He is who he is because of this great man........
John Derricott, a man of great strength and wisdom. A man who showed his love to his family through great sacrifice, work, love, humor, advice and counsel, and by his testimony of his love for his Heavenly Father and his Savior, Jesus Christ. Through his responsibility and love as the great father that he was, knowing full well that he was not a perfect man himself, he raised a great man whom we all love and call by the names of "Dad" or "Grandpa".
John loved his dear wife, Betty.
He loved his children and grandchildren.
And valued every moment with each of them.
Unfortunately, he passed away before I was able to download pictures of him on my computer, but luckily we have hard copy photos of him. As I reflect on who the man Kent Derricott is, I cannot imagine where each of us would be if John Derricott hadn't been such an incredible influence and father on Kent. I can't imagine where each of us would be if Kent/Dad had ignored the counsel of his father. Thank you John Derricott/Grandpa. Thank you Kent Derricott/Father. We love you both.
Because of Dad listening and heeding his Father's counsel, I became attracted to the man who I wanted as the father of my children.
Here we are on our first exotic vacation in Hawaii. Oh those many, many years ago.
So where did I come from? I came from a great man by the name of......
James Chapin Downey who also showed love to his family through great sacrifice, work, love, humor, advice and counsel, and by his testimony of his love for his Heavenly Father and his Savior, Jesus Christ. Through his responsibility and love as the great father that he was, knowing full well that he was not a perfect man himself, he raised an imperfect me which I am honored to call him "Father".
Your father, Kent, accepted and loved my parents which I am and have been grateful for since the day we were married.
Grandpa Downey taught all of us great things throughout his life including......
work.
Robby, you got part of your work ethic from your grandpa who started teaching you at the young age of 15 months old! Brittney, Rachelle, Brooke, and Jeff probably started at that time as well. Nice!
Dad has always said, "What goes around, comes around." That statement is so true. This picture shows how Grandpa was a hard worker no matter if he was in his yard or if he was in our yard. He loved working and he loved helping and serving others. Eventually, the table would turn as others would serve him. An incredible cycle of life.
Dad's selfless attitude spent many hours or days and nights in the hospital when Grandpa was sick giving Grandma some kind of respite.
Thank you, Dad, for your example. Because of your example, your sons understand serving others in need.
Because of these two incredible grandfathers, we are who we are today and Dad is who he is today.
Let's take a closer look at the man, Kent Derricott............
He pretty much lives here most of the time.
Airplanes!
He still loves Japan! This picture is for Evie, Lilly, Norah, and Lila.
He loves to eat good food......
including Mexican food!
He loves this face......
And we love it too!
He loves the snow
especially when he is plowing and he gets stuck.
Better yet, he loved the snow with Joey.
But even better than that, he loved being in it with his kids.
Good times!!
I'm pretty sure he wasn't loving life when there was too much snow.
Digging the house out probably rates in the same "fun" category as digging the car out. But when there is work to do, you get after it and do it. There's no laziness in this man!
Let's reminisce about the fun and adventures of growing up with Dad!
Silly face pictures,
protecting the deep fried turkey,
D.C. in front of the statue of a hero and three crazy kids,
still crazy in D.C.,
being adventurous in Hawaii,
but having even higher adventures in Hawaii,
as well as low adventures in Hawaii.
No family will EVER sound as good as we do at birthday parties! Thanks to Dad!
Adventures in Japan,
in Boston,
in Springville, Massachusetts,
turkey legs at Disneyland,
Robby, it will be okay, I promise!
Laughing is part of Disneyland, isn't it?
hiking up above the tree farm with Joey,
Hoover Dam (remember the guy who took our picture 10,000 times? This is the best he could do. We had some great laughs!
Halloween,
Halloween!!
Coaching Robby's Priest Quorum basket ball team,
adventures in Southern Utah and Arizona with Rachelle and
Jeff (and mom....the picture taker!).
Getting our Christmas tree at the tree farm,
parasailing in Tahiti,
Hawaiian adventures at the Polynesian Cultural Center,
wrestling with the best wrestler in the world!
Going to the Salt Lake Olympics and seeing the medals,
Flying on a helicopter above Mt. Rushmore,
Breakfast rock,
hiking to the tree farm with the family,
Splash Mountain at Disneyland!
Over the years, could never get enough Splash Mountain.
Getting in Dad's shirt,
or getting in Dad's tub,
or getting in the sand pit that Dad made,
or getting in Dad's commercial,
But maybe not getting on all of Dad's TV shows or commercials.
Everyone wasn't born yet during this show. Brittney was the bomb though!
Getting in motorhomes,
Hanging with Joey,
and giving Evie her chance with the mike.
There are many moments of love, sacrifice, generosity, work, fun, humor, and adventure that follows.......
He invites people from all lands into his home and into his life.
This was his favorite car,
and this is his favorite plow.
The host with the most!
Hair issues. Oh what is a guy to do?
Can't we just see more of your underwear, Robby?
Loving the grandkids.....
Still wrestling.
Loving his "adopted" sons,
A tender moment of loving his real son.
Another tender moment of loving his real son.
Serving and helping his children.
More fun with the grandkids.....
There is nothing better than Christmas!!
The finished product. You ARE the MEN!
Birthdays,
birthdays (Evie),
and more birthdays (Carson)!
Rattlesnakes? Nice catching guys!
Precious people and precious moments......
weddings
graduations,
being a grandpa (So comfy!)
Being a son.
Being a dad......
Just hangin'!
Loving
Helping
Loving
Hurting
Having patience
Celebrating
Hiking
Anticipation
Calling
Togetherness
Service
Rubbing our legs and feet during conference will go down in history.
Loving
Serving
More Christmas celebrating
Working
Being friendly
Eating
Posing
Flying
Christmas Eve
Celebrating
Togetherness
Cooking
Loving
Entertaining/working
Entertaining/working
E/W
Finding
Working
Working
Singing
Traveling/working
Traveling/working
Reuniting
Riding
Loving
Loving
Reuniting
Always giving to causes that matter......
And to people who matter.......Grandkids!
Popular culture and media sometimes portray fathers as either unnecessary or incompetent. Yes there are some who are unworthy of the name. But let's not forget that most fathers give their all for their families. Most do their best to be there for their children and to show them how to be responsible adults. They work to set good examples by teaching goodness and truth. They work constantly to provide, to protect, and to love their families and then love them some more.
Just as no child is perfect, no parent is perfect. We all hope to be remembered more for our strengths and not our shortcomings. As days become years, and we all grow older, we might consider showing more compassion, forgiveness, and appreciation. Choose to remember the good moments, the happy times, hold on to the memories that will sustain us through loss or heartache that can give us hope as we struggle to leave our own legacy of love. Each dad is unique. Each dad has a different way of expressing their love. Each loving and caring dad deserves honor from his posterity.
Honey, as your wife, I thank you for the good times. Thank you for your sacrifices for us. Thank you for your guidance, wisdom, advice, discipline, love, kindness, fun, tons and tons of sacrifice, and last but not least tons and tons and tons of love. I am honored to call you, the father of my children, "husband".
We love you Dad!
We love you Grandpa!
We love you Son!
We love you Kent!
I love you, Honey!
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