| Eulogy for Don Blair |
| My father and I were not close, but when I heard that he had died I felt the fabric of my life had been torn. Which is exactly what had happened. My father is one half of me. In fact, perhaps more. Mom often said that we like two peas in a pod. Derek is like him, too. I argue a lot with him, too. Notice a pattern here? The irony of the fact that I am irritated by the irrationality, stubbornness, stupidity and arrogance of the people most like me is not lost on me.
I never threw it in Dad�s face when we were arguing that he was a lot like me. If I had; he probably would have laughed. I have his sense of humour too. I am fairly artistic. I suspect that came from my father. My cousin Ross Setter once said that Dad had a quirky way of looking at things; I also have a quirky skill. Dad had a tendency to avoid problems � I tend to use that method more than I should. Dad was a cranky old fart and look at the number of friends here. A friend of mine once said to me, visualize your father and all the people from his line going back generations, and lean against them. I did and the feeling I got was one of support and being a part of a whole. When Dad died I felt the tearing of the support, and my mortality. The fabric of society seems to be in rough shape these days. Humans seem to have little worth. Love and family � the people you know intimately, love, and hate, at different times throughout your lifetime together, are the buffer against the seemingly randomness of life. I think my family is great. The raucous, loud, insulting and ultimately forgiving nature that we have towards each other is a result of our parents. Mom and Dad. Dad was half of that equation. Now when I argue with Derek, impatient with his stubbornness, short sightedness, arrogance and totally erroneous view of whatever we are talking about, we will both have to stop at some point, grin at each other and say, �Hi Dad�. - Debbie Blair, daughter |
| God puts virtues in all of us. God put virtues in my Dad and I would like to tell you a few. These virtues are the ones that people who knew him before the stroke, and people who met him after the stroke, would have seen in Dad.
Dad was a social person. He loved to be with people from the Legion to Family and Friends. He made many friends before and after his stroke. He liked to be around people, and the nurses at the Foothill�s Hospital and Colonel Belcher enjoyed him sitting at the table with them. Dad loved to laugh and make people smile. When Dad laughed, his smile lit up the room. This never changed after the stroke. The nurses at the hospital and Colonel Belcher always said he made their day with a smile and laugh. The last I will mention is Dad�s love for Mom. Dad always said he wanted to go before Mom because he could not live without his best friend. After the stroke, you could see in his eyes and holding Mom�s hand that his love for her was still there. He trusted Mom up until the end. He was at ease when Mom was with him. I would like everyone to close their eyes, and just imagine Dad on the deck at the house doing crossword puzzles. As you come up the steps, Dad looks at you and says, �What the hell do you want?!� Dad; we wanted to say good-bye. Our memories or you will always be a part of our lives and we will miss you. - Derek Blair, son |