On July 19 my 97-year-old dad died. He had been hospitalized for six weeks. Spending time with him as he lay in the bed dying is something I will never forget. The opportunity to hold his hand, fondly stroke his forehead and hair, tell him how much he has meant to our family and kiss him were wonderful opportunities to show him appreciation for his being my dad.

Three of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 help guard the family. Number five is "Honor your father and mother..." Number seven is "You shall not commit adultery." And number 10 tells us not to covet our neighbor's wife. God loves the family. Fathers are to lead and be responsible for the family.

Fathers who fulfill their roles in the family are worthy of our appreciation and honor. I had the opportunity of sharing time with my father in his last days alive on this earth. We sang together, laughed together, reminisced together and talked of life and death. Some of the last words he actually said were to my wife and me. I told him I loved him and he told me, "I love you too." My wife expressed her love for him a little later in the day and he responded with "I love you too, hon." We both felt very special about my dad, and he felt the same way toward us.

We did a memorial in his honor with family and a few friends in attendance 10 days after his death. We then said our good-byes as his ashes were placed in the cemetery. My dad's asleep, but the memories that he created with us will live on.

Please appreciate your fathers while they are still alive. Tell them often that you love them. Write or call them and let them know how much they mean to you. Tell them what blessings they are and treasure them as loving role models.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 gives us the principle of doing wholeheartedly what we can while we are able to do so. Honor your father and mother by showing them appreciation regularly and fulfill your responsibility as a loving child of God—our Heavenly Father.