Remembering You Dad
Norman Francis Varden
Born in 1919, August 11th
In Montreal, Quebec
Died May 16th, 2007 (87)
Ottawa, Ontario
He was a friend to others
Just a man to some
To me he was my hero
My father, my dad,
Grandfather to my sons
He passed away in May of 2007
It was his time to go, up to heaven
I think of him often
Throughout everyday
Missing him dearly
In so many ways
When I look back at the challenges he faced
Of raising me on his own
I have to admire him, as he could have said no
Couples had asked to adopt me
When my mother died
But he would not hear of this
He kept me by his side
Joined the Royal Canadian Navy
At the age twenty-one
His parents were proud
Of their middle son
We had our share of ups and downs
As many families do
Today I write this Poem Dad
To say, how proud I am of you
For raising me, as you did
At times, not an easy task
For all the love and care you gave
Rescuing me from harm
In oh so many ways
I have to thank you today
I hope that you can read this
From the heavens above
I know that you watch over me
I can still feel your love
Fought in World War II
Enlisted as a Stoker
In 1941
Serving on the Drumheller,
Stadacona, Cornwallis,
And a few other ones too
They were corvettes and minesweepers
Served until the end of World War II
Medals Include:
1935-45 Star
Atlantic Star
C.V.S.M. and Clasp
War Metal
I’ll always be your little girl
No matter what I do
I miss you Dad
I’ll always love you
Dad served on a ship called "The Orillia", in 1944, and by then he was a Petty Officer. The funny thing was in 1990 my family and I moved to Orillia. Dad never mentioned the names of the ships that he served on, but one would think that he would have made reference to The Orillia when he heard that I was moving there. A few years after he had died I was in the Legion with my mother-in-law having a beer. I spotted a picture on the wall and low and behold my dad was in the picture, standing aboard "The Orillia", with his shipmates. Shortly after that, I sent to Ottawa for his personnel records, and "HMCS The Orillia". was listed as one of the many ships he’d served on.
Dad was a choir boy and had a beautiful voice. I, as well as many other people, thought that he would have done really well if he’d pursued a singing career. He liked all types of music, and I remember when I was growing up, my friends loved the fact that he would never ask us to turn our music down when they would come by for a visit. It didn't matter to him, unless of course, he was watching one of his favorite shows on TV, such as Star Trek or an old western movie. I've included a video here, “Over The Rainbow”, a song that he used to sing all the time. This song brings tears to my eyes whenever I hear it.
Thank you for reading this tribute to my father. It is a long time over due. I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Veterans Affairs Canada
- Information
English description / Description en anglais
© 2011 Susan Zutautas
Comments
What a beautiful tribute to a truly special man. Thank you for sharing! You must miss him every day.
Thank you so much for sharing this. What a great man your father was. I do admire him raising you alone!
My dad was also in WWII. I lost him on 2000. He was 76.
A beautiful tribute! Up++
I guess I missed this beautiful tribute first time around, so I'm glad you put it on Facebook!
My own dad has been gone 16 years now.
Love this! Your dad sounds like he was such a wonderful, brave man. My condolences to you.
Susan.....A wonderful, heart-warming tribute from a devoted daughter to her Hero Dad......So very moving, Susan.....I'm wiping away my tears....We will always miss our precious fathers. Peace, Paula ++++
What a lovely and touching tribute to your Dad. Your poem clearly shows what a close and loving relationship you had with him...you were both lucky to have each other. I loved the photographs, too!
Hi Susan
What a beautiful, loving heartfelt tribute to your dad. What a cool man he must have been to not ask you to turn the music down.
This is such a beautiful tribute to your father, and such a touching story to share with us. I am sure he sees this, and that he is proud of you.
Susan, I hope you're ding well. I haven't been on HP much lately, but I figured I would drop in and say hi. It's always a pleasure to read your articles.
~ Kathryn
This is a beautiful tribute to your dad. The fact that he wanted to raise you on his own proves what a wonderful heart he had and that he loved you very much. He really was a hero. I love the photos you included...thanks so much for sharing!
Susan, I loved this tribute to your wonderful Dad and the memories you shared of his courage and determination are a lesson to all of us. What a blessing that he did whatever it took to take care of you and raise you despite the negative influences he faced. He was a hero in many senses of the word. The picture of the two of you at the top is awesome and his Petty Officer pic is charmingly handsome.
Hello Susan. I don't how the sharing got to here, yet I appreciate with honor the sharing of your dad. The poem is magnificent, enough said. I do have one question, though I may be getting memories mixed up. How did you get to Quartz Hill? I know Boeing is out there and other aeronautical businesses. Not being personal, really just checking my memory - giggle.
Mitch or Tim
Thanks Just Ask Susan for replying
Forgot to write that I will be waiting for your next poems.
Exceptionally well written..more than just a poem....It just cross boundaries and touched the heart...
Thanks for the awesome poem.
Hi Susan, your poem is precious. Your Dad was so special and his decision to keep you with him reveals his heart of love and deep devotion to you. A true man of honor.
Touched my heart. Beautifully written - Voted Up +++
Mekenzie
Beautiful tribute Susan. Parents are always missed and I'm sure your dad must be proud of you looking down on you from up there.
Voted up and beautiful.
Hi Susan,
The love that you have for your Dad shines through your words about him. He is undoubtedly looking down upon you with pride in his heart. I lost my dad when he was only 55. He also served in WW2 as a paratrooper in the European theater of war. He was honest and came from the old school when a man's word or handshake was as good as any legal contract. He was a good man as was your father. We can both be proud of our Dads. Thanks for sharing the story of your Dad. I know you miss him as I miss mine.
Simply amazing and beautiful! Such a wonderful tribute to your Dad - brave and strong in many ways. All the best, Steph
What a lovely and special tribute to you Dad! I am sure he is singing beautifully to you from heaven :)
whoa, it took about five minutes to page down to leave a comment LOL. The tribute to your father was so awesome. Thanks for sharing your heart. Enjoy your memories today.
What a really respectable tribute to your father. If you would like to, it would be good if you write about your memories of your father. You do not have to write it on Hubpages. You could even just write it to yourself.
You story is very touching but also it shows that you loved each other!
Your Dad was a hero in so many ways as you've shown through your poem and write up after the poem.
How lucky some of us are to have had wonderful Dad's can not only to be proud of but remember with love.
Voted up, beautiful and awesome.
Beautiful, Susan. I love it. I'm sure your dad does, too. What a great man!
Such a beautiful tribute Susan to your father. I loved learning the additional information as well. No doubt he is proud of you.
Sharyn
This is awesome... I voted up up up ...beautiful... Like your dad my dad is a hero. He served 21 years in the Army.. He fought in Korea when I was a baby and two terms in Vietnam..I really love your poem... Made me cry...
Your Poem actually motivated me to write the 10 miles hub you just recently commented on, thanks Just Ask Susan for the feedback there. I'm off to reading another of yours, cant wait to do so your definitely an inspirational writer.
I love the flow of this poem, I too am a veteran of the US Navy, so I fully understand his honorary commitment to the armed forces of his country & his duty to uphold freedom. Your father must have been a great inspiration to you.
I wish you luck on your voyages on the web, and I'm proud to have met someone of your stature. To be a child of a veteran such as your dad means a great deal. Voted up as beautiful. Such a lovely poem.
Ver moving, great job!
Beautiful. What a hero he was and what a wonderful tribute to him.
A great tribute to your father!
Nice poem.
I love these lines:
"I know that you watch over me
I can still feel your love"
What a sweet, wonderful tribute to your father! I wrote one about my dad, too. Aren't we lucky to have had such fathers? Voted up!
Hi Susan
This is such a beautiful and touching tribute to your dad; your hero.
Voted up up and away!
A beautiful poem that moved me to tears and a wonderful tribute to your father.
Somehow I know your father will read this and be so very proud of you.
Yes your love shines though in this, and great photos. I found it poignant, in some ways, that he should never have mentioned the ships he served on, especially the Orrilia. What a surprise to find the photograph in the Legion, but it makes me wonder a lot why he never mentioned it. Just me, a deep thinker that way. Now, if I knew who your dad was, I might ask him to take that apostrophe out of 'heaven's', cos it just clouds his otherwise sunny sky up there where it is. LOL Lovely mark of respect for your dad.
What a wonderful tribute to your Dad Susan. I think it is important, especially as we go on to raise our own kids, to give them credit for parenting us and doing the best they could...Not always an easy task either. He did a good job! Very inspiring!
This is a fantastic tribute, Susan. The love is tangible. And I have to say, I am a big fan of that song. It gets stuck in my head every so often, randomly.
Again, very good hub here.
Beautiful Susan. You had a handsome Father. I'm sure he is smiling..Thank you...
That is so wild! I loved that dream....wish I could have another one...it was like a quick happy visit:) I hope you have another tonight!
Great hub. Your father is a hero.
Thank's for sharing this ! :)
Beautiful poem Susan! You have done a great job here.
Susan - or have you had a vivid dream that is so real? I had this technicolor - surround sound dream where I was driving to work - on highway 270 - I looked over and the major was sitting in the passenger seat right next to me! He had a huge smile and he said, "you're doing really good things with your life kid". Then he evaporated - but I've been happy so many times when I think about that dream. If anyone could reincarnated themselves to send a message - he would do it! Lol
This is a lovely tribute to your father. He was a loving, wonderful dad. You do bear a strong resemblance to him, Susan, inside as well as out. Voted up.
How lovely to write a tribute to your dad. I found what you wrote about him being on the Orilla but never talking about it particularly moving. My father is still alive at 88, and has been battling cancer for 3 years. He has often talked about his times in WW2 but when I was younger I didn’t pay much attention. Now I ask to hear more of his stories, and we are hoping to get them recorded. It is amazing what that generation went through.
Susan - as I read this - it brought back lots of memories of the major:) I miss him too....I am so glad - and isn't it so strange - how you saw that picture of him on The Orilla? You'd have never seen it if not for that beer perhaps....wow! I'd say he was giving you a nice shout out!!
Up and everything.
What a lovely tribute to your father, Susan. This little poem came to me as I enjoyed your introductory photo;
A girl and her dad are a powerful duo,
especially when he is her Canadian hero.
Recalling his smile and those masculine arms,
no other guy measures up to his big daddy charms.
We women treasure those men of our little girl youth,
a playful kiss on the cheek is a daughters salute.
I enjoyed ever bit of your work here, and am honored to have read it. I hope you don't mind, but I will be adding this link to one of my hubs. Thank you for a priceless bit of work.
HubHugs~
K9
Susan, this is a beautiful tribute! It brought tears to my eyes and moved me deeply. I'm sure your dad was very moved too from his place in Heaven. Thank you for sharing this poem and tribute with us!
Susan, let me chime in with the others. What an awesome tribute to your father and to the daughter he raised.
Well done, well written. I was born in 1944 and my father was in the Navy on the U S Wasp.
Thank you for such a wonderful, moving and inspiring story.
Voted up, awesome and beautiful.
Susan, what a beautiful tribute to your father. I know what it's like to have that kind of father, so I know how fortunate you must feel to have had that kind of father.
How lucky you and your children were to have him as long as you did. I don't doubt that you don't need me to make that particular remark.
One of the subjects I've been thinking about writing about (in the form of a story - not a poem) is the way my own father refused to even think about allowing us to go into foster homes when my mother was hospitalized (for several months) for Tuberculosis. Knowing that my father worked and had three kids, including a baby son, to take care of; the doctor was emphatic (I was there) when she kept pointing out to my father that he didn't really have any options other than putting us into foster homes. He kept saying he wouldn't have that. The doctor kept saying, "Well, what are else are you going to do?" He told her he'd figure something out, and he did. It cost him most of his modest income; but at a time when we needed him (particularly since we couldn't be with our mother) most, he made sure we wouldn't be separated from him, as well as our mother.
A whole lot of people aren't fortunate enough to have had "one of those kinds of fathers", so when we have it's reason to feel particularly grateful and want to honor them.
Oh Susan. I just know your dad is so proud of you and honored. You have "done him proud". And the additional information about his military history is so interesting.
It is a fact that we never stop missing them. After my mom and dad passed on, I felt like an orphan though I was middle aged. Your heart shows beautifully in this tribute to you wonderful father.
Hey Susan, a very nice tribute to your father. Please accept my condolences even though they are far into the future. I lost my father when I was 17 years old, so I know what it's like to feel that loss. We always have memories that we can hold on to and cherish as though it was yesterday, but forgetting is something that will never happen. Thank you for sharing a part of you. :)
What a wonderful tribute to your dad, Susan. After that song and your poetry I had to go wipe my eyes and blow my nose. Thank you, Susan
And that wonderful photo, too.
That is beautiful Susan. I feel you. I lost my Dad in 1995 because of colon cancer.He was only 71. He too was a Veteran. I wrote a poem for him in 1993 and he requested that it be recited at his funeral. It was. And printed in the program. I know for sure your Dad knows all about your poem.
Susan, your dad was a hero. You are a wonderful daughter to write such a tribute to him. He must be proud of you looking down at your right now from heaven.
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