Fathers’ Day

Pictures are wonderful things to remember people by. I am fortunate that I have so many in my library that I can turn to.

My Dad was a very open man. You pretty much knew what was on his mind all the time. He rarely was angry that I can recall but there were instances, especially work-related when he was annoyed or disappointed.

William Calvin Shepheard was born 10 December 1914 in his maternal grandfather’s home in the small town of Irricana, Alberta, just 30 miles or so northeast of Calgary. He did in Calgary on 3 November 1983. I wrote about my dad on the anniversary of what would have been his 100^th birth (A Special 100^th Birthday) – 16 December 2014).

Bill was a sociable man, growing up and in his adult life. He remembered and was remembered by all of his relatives. I wrote before about the closeness of he and his cousins in the rural community in which they grew up, something many people do not experience today. (Growing Up With Cousins – 14 April 2015).

I share a few things with my father, his sometimes single-mindedness and the restlessness that enticed him to do different things in his life, even change careers. He was good with his hands and with planning and carrying out small and large building projects. I do that. He built our first family home in 1949. I designed my own family’s first house and renovated our next two. We both had/have a pride of family and, while generally satisfied with our own accomplishments and disappointed in our personal setbacks, we very much enjoyed/enjoy the success of our families. I don’t have my father’s patience, though. I’m not sure where that comes from – perhaps that Shepheard stubbornness many of our family members share.

I am very glad my sons, one of whom is also a father, inherited some of the good traits from their grandfathers. I can see things in them that are very like their ancestors. They are not afraid of tackling new challenges – much like their grandparents and great-grandparents, some of whom crossed the ocean or the continent to seek out a new life. Both are very outgoing, like their mother and her father. They do not have the great interest in family history that I have – but they still have many years left to discover it.

Anyway, at this time of year I like to remember all the fathers from our family. I also wonder how much we are like all those fathers who have gone before us and what unique traits – genetic and learned – each passed along to their sons. The one thing I can do is pull out all the photos of many of them and compare the physical aspects. Here they are, all the fathers and future fathers of my direct family line (Sorry ladies!):