My dad was a special man.  He was a fabulous husband, fantastic dad and an amazing grandfather.  He lived his life to its fullest and always brought support, optimism and laughter to every occasion. 

Growing up he gave everything and more. It was not always easy for him.  Recently he shared one of his life lessons that stated: you are going to get knocked down many times in your life but always get back up and do it again.  This sums up my dad.  Nothing ever stopped him from being successful.

We had busy schedules in the Arnott household but no matter what was going on or what time our swim practices ended, each night we sat down and ate dinner as a family.  His menu was very simple – past, pasta and pasta which meant pasta either was an appetizer, main course or side dish.  Perhaps this helped him through dinner with four girls and GG, as you can imagine dinner was never a quiet.  My dad loved the house to be full of chatter and as many of you know we had an open house policy which meant anyone could come live with us.  Also our family dinners were always open to whoever came through the front door. 

Another thing my dad enjoyed was work and this brought many opportunities for our family to live in different cities such as Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Texas, Surrey, Langley and later once we went off to school he lived with my mom in Saudi Arabia and Dubai.  I think we counted at least 15 different homes that we lived in.  But his favourite was the house on Brentwood Drive.  This house was memorable.  His daughters graduated from high school and university there, his daughters all got married there and all his grandchildren played there.

He never had boys even though I was the closest he had to a son.  So when my sisters and I married he was the happiest man alive.  Perhaps this was because the male to female ratio started to equalize. But in our house GG was always still the wild card…. which meant dad was still out numbered.  He loved hanging out with his new sons and enjoyed eating, drinking wine, playing golf and fishing with them.  My dad may not be the best at golf or fishing …. but he never gave up.

His next excitement came when his grandchildren were born.  He loved every moment he had with them and would do anything for them.  He loved playing with them, dancing with them, going to their sports games, dance recitals and special occasions to celebrate all their milestones. He offered little tips, small sayings (sometimes they didn’t make sense) and funny stories that made lasting memories. He was so proud of every single grandchild. 

One of his favourite places was the cottage.  At one time he owned a little shack of his own and he loved spending time there.  As the years past, we were able to share our own cottage with him.  It was his happy place.  He always was up at the crack of dawn where you would find him sitting on the dock fishing.  I am not sure if he caught many fish but it brought him joy and made him happy.   This was also a place where he shared his philosophy on life or as the kids called it ….. “Paizisms.”  

When he was first diagnosed with cancer, he didn’t give in but fought a great battle.  He lived each day and made every day worthwhile.  He was able to travel to Sicily in October with my mom and enjoyed every part of his trip. In the last few weeks he never once complained of his pain.  He only said he had discomfort and that he was going to be ok.  He enjoyed visitors and we heard many great stories that confirmed how amazing he was.   Up to the last day he had his sense of humour and his mischievous grin.   We were able to celebrate an early Christmas with him and he loved every minute of it even if he didn’t feel good.  He was a good sport even if he didn’t want to do it.

My dad never hesitated saying things out loud.  Most people would keep these thoughts to themselves.  But not my dad he took pleasure in seeing laughter and shock from his grandkids even if my mom scolded him for saying this.

My dad worried about my mom, my sisters and I and wanted nothing more than to keep us protected like he always did. He may not be here but he is watching us from a peaceful place and we are the luckiest people alive because he was our dad. 

He taught us to work hard, never give up, respect our elders, be compassionate, stay positive and have fun. But most of all…… he taught us that Family is the most important thing.

So thank you dad, we are going to miss you and we will cherish you forever.