Page created by: Laurie Maycrovich

My father, Daniel, was everything to me. I was "daddy's little girl" from the moment I was born. My father had not had the easiest of lives. He had been born to a single mother during the Great Depression. He lived life in and out of an orphanage whenever my grandmother was unable to care for him. He lied his age to enter the military and served in the Army during the Korean War. At 22 years old he met my mother, a war orphan brought to this country a few years earlier by the church. They instantly fell in love and were married a few short months later. Neither had had a great childhood, so they were anxious to start a family. However, infertility problems caused many heartaches for them. My mother was finally able to conceive me and carry me to full term 8 years later. My brother came along 7 years after that.

Family was everything to my parents. Dad was not the typical father during a time that women were considered the homemaker and men were the bread winners. Dad was very actively involved in our childhood. He may have worked very long hours, but he was very present in our lives when he was home. I often think my father may have been the original "Bad Dad Joke" teller, a trait he never lost even at the very end.

When dad was first diagnosed with Parkinson's I began helping take him to his doctor appointments. This was not because my parents needed me to but because I wanted to understand better. Eventually it became necessary for me to take him as he was wheelchair bound, and even further down the road we had to have home health. Throughout it all, dad never lost his sense of humor.

In dad's last days I pretty much moved myself into my parent's home. I stayed up all night with him so that my mother could try to sleep. I spent many nights just holding his hand. One of my favorite memories will always be the 3 hours we spent in the middle of the night talking about bread. Yes, bread. What kind of bread worked best in a sandwich, which kind worked best for french toast, and more. He had worked for Wonder Bread for many years and bread was one of his favorite foods.

He would be very happy knowing that this organization is helping others to live with this disease.