I was sitting tonight working on the computer and the song "Christmas Canon" came on. It holds a very special memory for me. Four years ago today I was at a hospital in Seattle and that song was playing as my father Hyrum Mack Smith passed from this life to the next. I always get a little sad around Thanksgiving because I know that the anniversary of his death is close. It is hard to believe that 4 years have passed since that day. My father was truly my Hero! He was gentle and kind in every way.
One of my earliest memories of my Dad was laying on the couch in the house on A Street as he was smoothing my hair. It had been a difficult time for me. I was only eight years old and I had to leave my Grandma who had raised me and move into a house filled with boys. All of a sudden I had a Mom and a Dad and 6 brothers. It was a bit of an adjustment (for everyone) I remember going to the Christmas parade downtown and he gave me a piggy back ride. After all this time! I had a dad! How amazing was that for me!
From the first moment I came into the Smith Family my Dad became my protector and my friend. One thing I really loved about him was the way he loved his family. He loved all of us no matter what we did. He just simply loved us. At the same time I would watch him and learn that he loved the Lord. Much of my early testimony came from watching my Dad and he served in various positions in the ward. I saw him go every Saturday to work on building the chapel in McLean, Virginia. Every moment he could he was working on that building. ( Those were the days when the Church required most of the labor to come from the members) Dad was so proud the day the chapel was dedicated. I loved going to Stake Conference with him. We would go to downtown Washington DC together and sit upstairs in the balcony. I didn’t really enjoy the talks but I sure loved sitting with him. It became a special time for us. Dad was always working for the Lord one way or another. If he wasn’t working or serving the Lord then he was “playing’ with us. We would play ball in the back yard or he would take us to the pool. Dad was at every game my brothers played in. Basketball, baseball, or football. He was always there cheering them on!! We just loved being with him.
When I became a teenager I don’t think I really enjoyed it as much. He was always watching me like a hawk. I was the only daughter and he was so protective! He was known to follow me on dates… he even followed me from Denver to a basketball game in Colorado Springs ... so "I wouldn’t get into trouble". (He didn't like the guy I was dating) I had to watch out the windows of my car… to be sure he wasn't following me. I openly hated it at the time.. But deep inside I loved it. I knew he loved me and just cared about me. Now that I have children I understand even better how he felt. What a guy! I remember he wanted me to move to Wash D.C. with him one year because he didn’t like who I was dating and wanted to get me out of Denver. I remember the day we did finally move… I am sure I heard him sigh a huge sigh of relief as we headed East and left those Denver days behind.
The greatest legacy my Dad left to our family was his ability to love unconditionally. He was always gentle and kind and was always concerned about hurting others feelings. I remember when I started to have children, he was the one that could always calm them down and soothe them when they were upset. He loved our kids and had special feelings for each of them as he did for each of his children and grandchildren. Even in his last days on the earth he would ask me about each one of them when I would call to check on him.
I always knew my dad loved me that I was his daughter. He accepted me as his own from the first moment I came into the family. I talked to him on Thanksgiving evening and he asked me why I didn’t come to Seattle for the dinner. I felt terrible and promised him I would come before Christmas…little did I know that that very evening things would change so drastically. About midnight he seemed to be chocking in his bed and Todd called the ambulance to take him to the hospital. When we got the call that he was in a coma and not expected to come out of it… I hurriedly caught a plane...praying all the way that he would be there when I arrived. When I arrived in Seattle the boys told me that he was not responding and in a pretty deep coma. Alan and I walked into the room and he was lying there with a ventilator tube in his mouth and throat and looked really miserable. Alan said “Hey dad look Terry’s here!” Immediately his eyes popped open and as he looked up at me he looked like he was grinning! His eyes sparkled. I was thrilled! His eyes followed me all around the room. I said “Dad, open your eyes really wide if you know how much I love you” He opened his eyes so wide, I couldn’t believe it. I was blessed to be able to stay with him for several hours during the night and what a privilege that was. He would wake up and I would ask him yes or no questions and he would answer me with his eyes and then sleep again. I was so glad he knew I was there and how much I loved him.
The next day we had to decide to let him go. The doctor told us that he was in a locked in state And the chances for recovery were very slim. We knew there were people waiting to take him home and when we went back into the room after we had made the decision, he looked so peaceful that we knew it was the right decision and he was ready to go. We decided that he had people there waiting to take him home and they let him know what was happening and with great sadness as Todd gave him a blessing we let him go home. What a wonderful reunion he must have had with his family and especially his parents he had never met!
Well 4 years have passed and tonight as I sit here the ache is still so fresh! What a great man my Dad was! I loved him with all of my heart!
I love you Dad and I always will! Not a day goes by that I don't think about you and wish you were here with us. You are my hero!
