Fathers: Life’s lessons from Dad
Published: June 19, 2005
“I do not recall hearing my father speaking disparaging words about or of peoples of color,” wrote Chris, who lives in Vista Del Mar. “This was not in his makeup as a person.”
Seal Beach resident Margarita Bahr described her father, Charles E. Wager, as a World War II veteran who stood up against prejudice.
Late in his military career, one of Wager’s duties included the observation of integration in the South. In one incident, a black Army major, a Korean War veteran accompanying Wager, was asked to leave a whites-only restaurant. Wager wouldn’t allow it. The two ate and slept in the “colored’ part of town that evening.
Gilbert Quijada Sr. chose his family over a hero’s adulations. The Lakewood resident was among a small handful of neighbors who rescued a woman and her children from a 1991 house explosion on Eastbrook Avenue. He skipped interviews with reporters to check on his family, said brothers Michael and Gilbert Quijada Jr.
“I can remember seeing each of those men on television discussing the event and their own courageous deeds that followed,” wrote Gilbert Jr. “The only one who wasn’t on TV, or even mentioned, was our father. He had a family to tend to.”
Long Beach resident Ginny Wakefield wrote, “My dad loves God and his country, and served on the front line in Italy during WWII, where he was shot in the chest by a German sniper,” Ginny wrote. “He still wears his dog tags and the bullet he was shot with.” Long Beach resident Thadd Windsor mustered the courage to come out to his father, William Lee Howard Sr.
“I had a secret that I wanted them to know for quite some time,” Thadd wrote. “It took me awhile for me to say to them that I am gay. Dad took me aside and said ‘I love you!” That meant a lot.”
East Long Beach resident Gigi Acevedo said her father, Charles J. Acevedo II, supported her decision to join the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1980s. But it was his grace in the onslaught of cancer that was telling of his strength. He died surrounded by his family.
“The lessons he taught most profoundly is that love prevails all things, even when our health does not,” Gigi wrote. “As a result of his life, we are all closer and a more vulnerable and loving and caring family, as dysfunctional as we are!”
Dave Bowman’s father, a Korean War veteran, had a gift for understatement.
“He had a way of getting his message across without a big to-do,” the Downey resident wrote.
Willie Cayton Bethlehem’s dad, Arcenio M. Cayton, shared a simple religious lesson:
“Love Christ first, others next and thyself last,” wrote Bethlehem, of La Palma.
Belmont Heights resident Debbie Robbins said her father, J.R. Birdsong, took joy in helping others. “He had a heart of gold,” she wrote.
How to succeed
Seal Beach resident Dottie Anderson wrote that her dad taught optimism. His motto was, “It will be all right. And it was.”
Belmont Shore resident Robert Sparks received lessons on the golf course, like don’t run on the greens.
“I laughingly think about these rules to this very day,” Robert says.
North Long Beach resident Marcia Harris wrote about her father Marvin C. Sokol’s humor and “to Be myself ‘be who you are!” My dad appreciates and supports me.”
Downtown Long Beach resident Dianne Theil McNinch said father George William Theil taught her to respect everyone equally.
“The people who worked for him at his car wash received the same quality of attention, listening, respect, consideration, gratitude, fun stories and teasing that the dignitaries received,” she wrote.
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Dear Dad…: What You’ve Always Wanted To Thank Your Father For But Never Got Around To SayingWilliam Robinson taught his children history, respect for nature and how to get what they want in life.
“Possibly the most useful lesson I learned from Dad was that ‘if you never ask, you never hear the word “yes,”‘ wrote Sue Ann Robinson of Lakewood Village.
Long Beach resident Bunnie Warner learned to drive the old-fashioned way.
“(Dad) would only take me driving if I knew the direction that I was turning. We did not have a compass in our car back then. I learned from the sun and where it was. I used to get so mad, but at age 62, I can still find my way in any direction.”
Lakewood resident Ron Hust learned the three H’s from dad Hubert Hust: humor, hard work and honor.
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