On October 3, 2017, my dad Gary Penley died. I had the kind of relationship sons long to have with their fathers. I wish more people could have dads like mine, and I wish I could have had my dad for a little bit longer. I have never felt such a debilitating pain in my gut, such a gaping hole in my heart. I can't imagine how the trembling, the love, or the loss will ever fade. Right now I can only limp forward carrying the legacy and lore of a dad I loved more than any other man on this earth. I can only listen to years of voicemails from a dad who wanted nothing more than to connect and make this kid feel like a king.
I wrote and presented this eulogy at his funeral in Momence, IL on October 9, 2017. I share it with you to motivate, to move you, to paint the picture of how great an imperfect parent can be.
I wrote and presented this eulogy at his funeral in Momence, IL on October 9, 2017. I share it with you to motivate, to move you, to paint the picture of how great an imperfect parent can be.
Some of you knew my dad as a friend, a boss, a birder, a co-worker, a brother, a son, a husband, but I knew him simply as dad. My dad came from small-town Illinois and ended up a big-city executive. He was the first person in his family to graduate from college, and he turned that education into an amazing career that allowed him to bless so many other people. Of course, he was the only guy in senior management who came to work in his suit on Monday with grease underneath his fingernails from doing man’s work on the weekend. He worked so hard his whole life to take care of us kids. And he did. So much of my success professionally has come from mimicking his relentless focus.
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