Richard A. Sokerka
This Sunday, Father’s Day, will once again be a good day for many and a tough day for some. It’s a good day because it gives all fathers the opportunity to count their blessings, thanking God for the gift of their children, and the awesome honor it is to be their Dad. But it’s also a tough day for those of us who have had our Dad called home to the Lord.
This Father’s Day will be bittersweet for me as it falls on June 17, which will be the 50th anniversary of my father’s passing in 1968. But it also is a time of great joy, as my son will be celebrating his first Father’s Day, thanks to the arrival of my newest grandson in April.
My Dad was part of what was known as “the Greatest Generation” to whom our nation owes great homage.
After his graduation from the University of Notre Dame, he went to Officer’s Training School, and as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry, he was among the brave who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. He survived that day on which so many lost their lives only to be captured by the Nazis a month later and placed in a Prisoner of War camp in Poland. Later that year, he and some fellow POWs made an escape attempt, hid in the hay in the barn of a farmer and with the help of Polish partisans, found their way back to Allied lines.
He did not talk about his war-time experiences as much as I prodded him about them as a youngster because he said he never wanted any of his five children to have to go through the horrors of war and see what he saw and what he had to endure. Yet, his love for his family and his country forged in him the intense desire to remain in the Army Reserves, to be ready to serve his country again, if the need be. When he died at 52, he was still a member of the Army Reserves in the Intelligence Division and held the rank of Major.
After World War II, he married and operated a family embroidery business, which produced many of the logos emblazoned on Catholic school students’ uniforms.
He was steadfast in his faith, serving his parish, St. Mary’s in Passaic, as president of the Holy Name Society, and as the leader of the lectors chosen to be among the first to proclaim Scripture readings in English after Vatican II.
At his passing, I was the oldest at 18; the youngest was seven. My Mom had the difficult task of raising our family as a young widow, but I am sure he was pleased with the great job she did and how well we all turned out, proud as he was to be our Dad. He never got to walk any of his three daughters down the aisle at their weddings. That job fell to me. He never got to see the births of any of his 14 grandchildren or his 11 great grandchildren (with No. 12 on the way later this year).
So this Father’s Day, cherish the moment. Make the day as personal as possible. Life is all about relationships, as my dear wife always says, and there is nothing more important than loving your father and mother, your wife, your children, your grandchildren and your great grandchildren while you still have the opportunity.
While I’ll be fondly remembering my father and what a great dad he was, I’ll also be celebrating Father’s Day with all my children and grandchildren from near and far. What could be a better gift on Father’s Day? And I know my dad will be smiling from above.