9/21/07
I still have the card you gave me last year on our Anniversary.
For My Wife ..My Once-in-a-Lifetime Love.
You wrote inside "Here we are at 43 still in love you and me.
Next year at 44 we'll be in love even more"
Well here I am at 44 and without you no more..But you will live in my heart forever and I will never forget our anniversary as each year goes bye without you.I will cherish the years we had together and all the happy memories we shared.
"I am going to Love you Forever and Always.
There isn't a doubt in my mind because all of the Love that I feel in my heart is the will last forever kind.
Love and Miss you
Your Wife
Lorraine
9/3/07
For you Dad on your Birthday
"A Dad's love is a special gift the heart will never forget."
Dad the love I have for you and the happy memories you have given me will live in my heart forever.
I miss you so very much.
With Love
Your Daughter Always
Lisa
First of all Dad I can't belive you are really gone. I guess I just thought you would always be there to take care of Ma and to watch our kids grow up. The one thing I have and will keep it as long as I can is the charm around my neck. It's the one you wore and I belive it was given to you by the 4 of us. It reads SuperDad inside the superman logo. Everytime I need a little reminder of you I just take a hold of it and reality sets in. It was the perfect gift for you and I will wear it with honor. Every thing I need to become Super Dad I learned from you.
We will always have the memories, and man do we have lots of them. From all the trips to Laconia where you used to sit on the beach and watch us as I knocked Lisa of the tube, and yell at us to get back to the beach as we tried to row away to Weirs Beach. That was a lot of fun and I thank you for it. I will always remember one day I got you so mad you practically chased me around the block on Sargent ave. I don't remember why, maybe I mouthed off or it was the time Lisa and I put a hole in the wall. I am glad you were always there to make us smile and to dicipline us, we needed both.
So I gues since we don't have you any longer life goes on and we'll have to enjoy who we got left. Ma will be taken care of, so don't you worry about her. I am sorry you didn't make it to see this summer but Eveyone up at that place in Maine is going to miss you. I will miss you, my wife and kids will miss you and this Wonderful World will miss you.
Love, your son
Chris
I couldn't have asked for a better Dad. When we were children he worked hard for us, he spent quality time with us, he protected us, and he taught us that family, friends and faith are all you need. By seeing his relationship with my mother he showed us that marriage is something you don't take for granted. He made sure we were respectful. The moral values that are instilled in us are there because of him. He made sure that we all sat at the dinner table together every evening and that we went to church every Sunday. He taught me how to tie my shoes when I was little and when I was learning how to drive at 16 years old he was the one who had the patience to teach me.
The time I looked forward to the most as a child was our vacations to Lake Winnepesaukee every summer. During vacation he was stress free which meant it was joking around time all week! We hung around at the beach, went to Fun Spot, Harts Turkey Farm, Kellherhaus to make our own sundaes, Weirs Beach arcades, drive-in movies, miniature golfing and played cards at the cottage. Now that I have a family of my own, I enjoy going to Lake Winnepesaukee every summer, going to the same exact places and doing the same things (except Harts Turkey Farm... I think it's over-rated)! He was responsible for many wonderful memories and traditions that I will do my best to continue.
One special tradition I will truly miss and right now can't imagine doing without him is going to Maine on September 3rd for his and Stephen's birthday. He loved being in Maine and I'm so glad my mother convinced him to get a trailer up there which created many great memories. Ryan and Shawn loved spending time with him up there.... last summer he played wiffleball with them.
The last day we spent with him was on Palm Sunday when we went to his house for dinner. He played Battleship with Ryan that day. He also watched Ryan and Shawn ride their scooters and watched Shawn and me play ball outside. I wish we could have had many more years with him, but I'll never forget the ones we had. I am so grateful that I had such an outstanding Dad, that my husband had a father-in-law who he had so much in common with, that my boys had a Papa who loved them and that my mother had a husband who meant the world to her. I know he is with God now and his spirit will always be with us.
XO XO XO XO
"To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
A healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.
This is to have succeeded."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dad,
Where do I start?
I guess I can start when I was an infant and Ma had you change my diaper and I pee'd on you. I don't remember that but I heard that funny story for years.
What I do remember is that you taught me how to throw, catch and hit and you were at every Little League and Babe Ruth baseball game that me and Chris played in unless you had to work (which you were doing for us).
You even seen me pee my pants at Foss Park during one of my first games because I was so nervous about playing my best for you.
Enough of the pee stories. I remember you helped me and Chris with our pinewood derby cars, and added the weights to make them faster.
I remember taking us to Lake Winnepasauke, teaching us how to row a boat, fish, and play horseshoes. And also how to entertain a crowd at a campfire.
I remember when you had your aneurysm in 1978 that your main concern was Ma and your 4 kids. And that you fought to stay alive for us (for 29 years).
I remember putting up that basketball net on Sargent Ave and kicking all our asses in the game of H-O-R-S-E.
I remember when we acted up as kids, that's all Ma had to say was "Wait till your father gets home" and we straightened right out.
I remember watching TV shows with you like All in The Family, Ed Sullivan, Hollywood Squares, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, American Bandstand, and Candelpins For Cash.
I remember you kicking our cat off the 2nd floor story porch and she came back.
I remember you training Lucky on how to guess what hand the cookie was in.
I remember playing golf with you at Fresh Pond (with Jim Doody's pass) and going to the VFW or the Porter House after. You would order me a coke and peanut butter crackers and give me quarters to play the video game. The phone would ring once in a while and the bartender would yell out, "Is Bob Harris here?" and you'd give him a signal and he'd tell Ma on the other end, "He just left" and then you'd order one more and leave. Those cokes turned to beers when I reached the legal age. And we still bonded by tossing a few back up until the day you passed away.
I remember you sitting at the Boston Garden on a 90 degree day with no AC in June of 1988 to see me graduate from Northeastern and how proud you were to tell your friends of my accomplishments, that I couldn't have achieved without you.
I will remember that you were the cool dad that all our friends wanted to hang out with.
I remember when your Mustang got stolen and you never got it fixed, so we started it with a screwdriver. And when I wanted to borrow the car, you'd say the keys were in the toolbox.
I remember when you went to get ice cubes out of the freezer and there wouldn't be any, you'd yell "BALLS"
I will remember every ball game that we watched together, as we got to share the moments of all our teams winning a championship along with many losing seasons. You taught me about loyalty, and how it pays off whether it it was with Ma, Western Electric, Harvard Wine, the Sox or the Pats.
I remember going to Cambridge to see you play softball, and you even played with a broken finger one night.
I will remember those Wednesday nights at Harvard Wine (I'd always be late)and the father-son bonding that we did, the stories we shared and the JUMBLE's that we did. You would always solve it before I could get the first word. I am sorry that I was late now, because those 15 minutes every Wednesday night are precious now that you are gone. Those minutes must have added up to thousands of more that I could have spent with you.
Dad, thank you for memories, and for making me the man that I am. I will work my hardest to keep the Harris legacy going, and to continue to make you proud, because I know that you are in heaven watching down on us. I will take care of Ma and the rest of our family the best to my ability, and if I ever have a son of my own, I hope I raise him the same way you raised me, with as many laughs and good times that we shared together.
I love you and you will always be in my heart no matter what I am doing in life!
Love,
Bobby
