In my nearly four decades as a Field Agent and General Agent with the Knights of Columbus, I have handled hundreds of death claims. Occasionally, one of the beneficiaries of our insurance will share a personal story or a letter with us. When I served as a Field Agent in South Carolina, one of my clients was a Brother Knight who died at the young age of 35, leaving behind a widow and a son. The son wrote this letter to his deceased father and the mother was kind enough to share it with me- Michael Aun

Dear Daddy,

I miss you so. You’ve done your best to take care of me ever since I was a little boy. You tried to raise me with good values. I learned right from wrong from you. You taught me everything you could (or at least everything I was willing to learn). You sent me out into this world with a wealth of knowledge, but you left my life far too soon, leaving a big void.

Life can get so hectic and tiring and when I’m down, I always ask myself, “What would daddy do?” So many people give up on being good. It’s hard to watch that happen. I guess the one comfort is that there is always hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope for better times. Hope for the things that last.

I do owe you-- more than I could ever repay. All the sacrifices you made and all the tears you cried were not in vain. I know you did your best for me. I need to tell you that I appreciate that.

We both know neither of us was perfect. That doesn’t matter. Perfection is overrated. What matters is that you cared for mom and you cared for me. You cared, you gave and you wanted the very best for both of us.

More important still is that you never gave up. Sure, you lost a battle here and there, but you bravely won the war. You finished the race.

So how do you say thank you someone like that? How do you give back to someone who has spent his entire life doing absolutely everything he could do for you? Honestly, I can’t answer that question. I can only hope and pray that God reminds me every day of what you went through for me. I only hope I can be half the man you were daddy.

I can try and tell you how lucky I feel to have such a wonderful dad and I can work to give back to you a little of what you gave to me-- the best gift of all, the gift of a father’s love. It’s been a long time coming, but I think I finally get it. Thank you, daddy... thank you, thank you, thank you!

One more thing, I know that mom’s life and my life would have been entirely different if it weren’t for the fact that you provided so well for both of us, both when you were alive and after your death. I only recently learned of how you did this, with the Knights of Columbus insurance policies you had.

I often asked mom how she could manage without your income. Her answer was simple: “Your father provided.” She never bothered to clarify until I recently got married and she explained how critical it was for me to purchase Knights of Columbus insurance. She said the money the Order paid her cleared off the mortgage on the house and allowed her to stay in our home all those years. The insurance allowed her to be a stay-at-home mom and prevented me from losing two parents- one to pre-mature death and the other to a career.

She said your K of C insurance paid for my education and provided an income that allowed us to live like we always had. I guess I took that for granted, but mom said it was your foresight that allowed us to stay here and live comfortably. It provided for my used car that got me back and forth to school. It provided my tuition for college and paid for things my limited baseball scholarship would not cover.

It paid for the new heating system that went on the blink a couple of years after you passed away and replaced her car when it died. It paid for a lot of things I guess I always took for granted.

Best of all, it allowed mom to be at all my ball games and watch me play. I wish you could have been there daddy. She was very proud of me as I know you would have been if you had been there. But in my mind’s eye, you were there. Your spirit and love were always present, and those things drove me to be the best athlete I could be.

It is difficult to lose your father at the age of 14. I can’t imagine what it would have been to have lost a mom as well because she had to work two jobs to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. I now know that it was the insurance you had with the Knights of Columbus that provided for all of this and more.

I am missing you tonight like I have every night for the last fifteen years. I will always remember all the lessons you taught me when you coached me in Pop Warner and Little League or when you served as my Cub Scout Master and Sunday school teacher. I learned so much from these lessons, but I have learned even more from your foresight of providing for mom and me. Daddy, that lesson was perhaps the greatest of all. I’ll never forget you. I only hope I can be half the man you were.

Lovingly,

Your son