I am Bill Harrer, the 3rd and middle child of Bill and Kaye
Harrer and Yes, I am the favorite child.
Well, actually any of us could have raised our hands, because Dad had a
way of making us all feel like we were his favorite. I would like to thank you
all for coming today to help celebrate the life of our Dad.
I have also been honored to be named after my Dad, a honor
that I have cherished all of my life and something that I have given to my
first son, who in turn has given to his only son. I know they will cherish that honor as much
as I do.
One of the special things that Dad liked was to make
birthday, Christmas, anniversary or other special day cards for his friends and
family. I had already written two
eulogies for my Dad when I came across a handwritten note from Dad in a box of
cards that Dad was working on.
It simply said: "Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to
dance in the rain”. This note from him
seemed like the perfect metaphor for his life, something he did extremely
well. He loved to dance and he could
always see the sunshine through the clouds.
As I watched my Dad body fail him over the past five months,
I came to learn that this quote may have been as much for him as it was for
someone else.
Dad's life was not a simple life, being born in 1923 he grew
up during the depression era. That
coupled with the fact that his father's had a tragic accident when Dad was 5 or 6 meant that he would grow
up without a father, but he and his two brothers and two sisters learned how to
dance in the rain at a very young age.
Dad never complained about not having a father, or being
poor, or going into the service and being stationed in Hawaii only to have his
tranquility disrupted after two weeks, on that infamous Dec 7th day. No, he
talked about what fun he had with his brothers and sisters, what his Mom went
through to ensure the children were raised properly and how nice Hawaii
was. He didn't know adversity because he
refused to let it dampen his spirits. When
it rained in Dad's life, he just figured it was time to learn a new dance.
His life was not easy, but you couldn't tell how hard it was
because he was too busy having fun living.
When my Mom, his wife, died in 2002, Dad didn't quit living,
no, he dug deep and strengthened his friendship with existing friends and went
out and developed new friendships. And
for those friends of Dads that played tennis with him 3 times per week and
danced with him, I would like to thank you being an important part of his life.
Dad also began to travel more and see the world, something
he had wanted to do since joining the Marines in June 1941. Dad traveled to China, Germany, Austria,
Italy and Switzerland. He went on
cruises to the Caribbean and from Boston north to Canada. I was fortunate enough to travel with Dad on
many trips and Dad was about loving the moment, his family and his friends.
Even in his final months as he struggled at the Nursing
Home, Dad made some good friends with the other patients and staff. They all came to know and love him because he
was not burdened by caring a chip on his shoulders. He enjoyed these new people that he met and
treated them with love and kindness and in turn was treated with an abundance
of love and kindness.
I am sure if Dad was here today, that he would tell you that
no matter when you were born, that rain is going to fall during your lifetime
and that you would be much better off learning to dance in the rain, then
pretending it is not raining or trying to wait out the storm. That it was some of those times while he was
dancing in the rain that he found himself enjoying life the most. That even though the clouds might come and
block the sun, the sun still shines for us and those clouds will eventually
pass. It is what you do while those
clouds block the sun that defines you as a person.
For those that knew my Dad, knows he loved to dance, rain or
shine.
Thanks Dad for always putting us kids first, for coaching me
in baseball, for exploring the world with me and for teaching me how to
dance.
Now I would like to invite my Grandson Ben up. Ben is my daughter Sarah's 2nd child and one
of Double G's 10 Great Grandchildren.
Ben last saw his Double G just about three weeks ago when my Dad's
hearing had worsened and we had rigged up a set of headphones with an amplifier
to allow Dad to hear us. Ben enjoyed
talking with Double G and especially liked talking into the amplifier. Dad commented after Sarah, Rob and the kids
had left that Ben was destined to be newscaster or reporter the way he loved
talking into that microphone. Dad really
cherished the time he spent with his Great Grand-kids.
Ben, upon learning of Double G's passing and subsequent
services today, asked if he could speak.
He was concerned that Double G might not be able to hear him, but Sarah
and Rob have assured him that he will be listening and will be extremely proud
to hear him talk. Sarah and Ben have
worked with the other Great-grandchildren to identify what made Double G so
special to them.
Ben.....
I want to
share with you the Great Grand-kid’s favorite memories of Double G.
Grant and Kyle both loved playing 5 Straight and the cad game Golf with
Double G.
Hailey liked that every time she saw him he
was smiling.
Drake said that he had funny jokes.
Cooper loved the cards that Double G would
make him for his birthday.
Taylor said that she like his hugs.
Sam said that he was very nice and brave.
Claire said that Double G was very, very
kind.
We will miss
Double G and we love him very much.
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