It’s certainly hard to believe, but today marks the one-year anniversary of my father, Darryl Ray Walker’s passing. We all, as a family, have been hanging in there by moving on with our day-to-day lives and drawing closer to our friends and family for support. The first couple of years of any tragic death are never easy. But we are truly grateful for all the love bestowed upon us during this ordeal. But instead of reflecting on the sad times, I’m going to reflect on the good times and share what I miss the most about my father.
The first thing I miss is his sense of humor. He always had this silly, sarcastic wit about him. He loved cracking jokes and calling people “playa” (for whatever reason). But after a while, it became his catchphrase. I guess it became part of who he was. Everybody who really knew him, like his closest friends and family, started to associate him with this phrase. When you hear someone say, “how you doin,’ playa?” that’s when you knew it was my dad.
The second thing I’ll miss is definitely his laugh. He had a laugh that truly stood out. It was one of those “laughing out loud” laughs. I remember making fun of it as a kid. Hey, I’m not one to mock my dad’s laugh, but it was a really funny laugh. I almost wish I had an audio recording to share with you all how hilarious his laugh was.
The third thing I’ll miss is his strong work ethic. My father has always cared about his family. He always worked hard in maintaining a job in order to take care of his wife and children. He cared about performing well in the work that he did. He also cared about being on time. Yes, my father was the type of man who valued hard work and this beautiful quality resonates in his children.
The fourth thing I will miss is the most important of all. That is his love for Jehovah. My father died a faithful servant of Jehovah. He loved talking to people about him. He loved learning about him. He loved giving discourses about him. Clearly, my father’s love for our heavenly father was undeniable.
There are a lot of things I miss about my father and I probably wouldn’t have enough time to cover those in this post. But these things are the ones that I am the fondest of about my father. There isn’t a day that goes by which I’m hearing, seeing, thinking or talking about something that reminds me of my father. I love you, Dad and I will see you soon.
My daughter, you have captured my feelings in your words. I’m moved to tears. Yes He was a unique personality and his presence is sorely missed. Unbelievable that He is not here in the day to day. The scriptures liken death as a deep sleep that only Jehovah God by means of his son, the great redeemer Jesus can awaken those sleeping in death. We faithfully await that grand day. Missing that man… husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend!
Joyce Walker
Yes! Keep up the good work, serving Jehovah, loving him with your whole heart, soul and mind and loving your spiritual brothers and sisters as well as your neighbors. Matt 22:37-39.
Brandi, your post is so touching and all so true. We all look forward to seeing Daryl soon. Love you guys so very much
That is so sweet Brandi !!💖
Truly beautiful! He will call! Soon! Thank you for your encouraging post. He is so proud of you. He can be proud of his legacy.
Thanks for sharing that Brandi. I was thinking of your family on that day as well. We miss him a lot a long time friend. He always had jokes and I can hearing him laughing and using that word playa. We knew him for all this things as well.
Very beautiful 😍 I miss him too and his fatherly hugs 😊
I absolutely love this tribute to your father…I knew him for many years didn’t see him often but heard about him on an almost daily basis because he worked with my husband for almost 25 years. There was a fairly large group of witnesses on that job who encouraged each other and kept in contact with each other even after retiring. We enjoyed when Darryl was assigned a talk at our hall.. we knew we were in for a treat. We all look forward to seeing Darryl again…
Brandi Your Heart Was Fully Open In Describing D, You Captured His Personality Well, I Walked With You Emotionaly As You Described D, And Yepp I To Think Of The Times Spent Singing, So Glad Your Mom Encouraged Me To Join Up For A While, Said It Would Be A Nice Destration For Me, She Was Right, As A Father And Your Uncle, I Couldn’t Be More Proud Of You, You Have Both Your Dad And Mom In You, You’re A Lovely Young Lady, Proud To Have A Niece Like You, JAH Bless The Spirit You Show
That was very heartwarming, Uncle Pat. When I saw the anniversary of his death approached, I really felt the need to do something to commemorate it. I was deeply encouraged by your words. We all miss him terribly, but we know he is just sleeping and will soon be awakened. #justaroundthecorner!