Thinking of all the love, fun and big-hearted generosity that graced this spinning planet of ours when an extraordinary dude landed on it 81 years ago.
I choose to believe that I’m the luckiest guy in the world and he was, and still is a big reason why.
Hands that could hold and protect, lift up and encourage. Incredibly driven. Could hold his own in any crowd and yet be so down to earth and just one of the guys too.
Dad could captivate an audience with his written and spoken words or sing with that beautiful tenor voice of his that could make you smile or cry depending on the song he chose.
As a Dad, he could make the most boring situation fun and the saddest situation somehow funny. He made Joe and me feel like his everything and yet made it clear through his loving words and actions that Mom was and would always be his Sun, his Moon and his Star.
When Heidi and Emma expanded our little family of four, his love for them expanded exponentially. Being blessed with his grandkids Alessia, Sofia, Neve, Fiona and Luke made his giant heart swell like the ocean and simply by being themselves, helped to profoundly inform his own understanding of the mysteries of life and love in ways that I can only pretend to know.
He could chill and relax like no other when he wasn’t working his ass off. Be so considerate as to think of something that you didn’t even realize you needed. Share an insight that somehow made whatever you were struggling with, make sense and seem doable. Break things down with a clarifying wisdom when you needed it most. And always helped to refocus your perspective on what’s most important in this thing called life, love. He could make you believe that it was all going to be ok and you were going to be alright, no matter what. And he could celebrate the good in life with a joy like no other.
Grateful for his life that ended earlier than I ever would have wanted and for his love that some way, somehow keeps on keeping on and finding its way into my heart and soul when I need it most.
Grateful that for all eternity, I will always be the proud son of Jay McGowan and Jay McGowan will always be my Dad. Happy Birthday, Jay Bird!!! ☘️❤️☘️
