Good Morning,

On behalf of my family, I would like to thank you all for attending this memorial service for my Father.

Many of you may not know me. However, I am sure you have all heard my Father speak of his Grandchildren. More specifically as it relates to me, his youngest, Jonathan. WellÉI am Jonathan's Father, Ron Liesch.

I realize that many of you here today knew our Dad because of his many and varied interests.

Some of you know him from the Golf Course.

Some of you were his hunting buddies.

I see a lot of his friends here that he used to fish with.

The friends from the cattle and business community are acknowledged and we appreciate your presence.

And, of course the many friends he made at the various churches he attended and served.

Some of you here today shared all of his interest with himÉhow very special you were to Dad.

We are so pleased that many of you will have the opportunity to meet the majority of Dad's extended family. There are close to 100 of our relatives here today.

It is hard to know where to start.

I know you all knew my Father in your own special way.

I think he was the favorite uncle of most of my cousins.

But, only two of us here today knew him as "DAD"

That is what I want to share with you. The attributes and qualities of character in him that no one but Karen or I could tell.

In organizing this tribute for my Father, I had an opportunity to roam around his house for a while looking for little mementos of him that would translate to words. Words that would convey the deep love, respect, and, appreciation for Dad that Karen and I shared.

I looked first for his Bible to see If there were any highlighted verses or notes in the margin that would trigger thoughts or memories of Dad teaching us life's lessons vis-ˆ-vis the Bible.

This was a major task.

I counted eight well-worn Bibles in his office and quickly realized that I did not have the time or the energy to devote to reconstructing his character through the King James.

I decided that I would start by trying to identify characteristics within him that would illustrate,

As I started the list I quickly realized that every attribute of him I wanted to share with you started with the letter "C."

The first one I want to speak of is,

Courage. Our Father faced his long battle with cancer and his most recent trials with absolute courage. I never once heard him complain about the treatments or the side effects of anything he was going through. He was convinced that if his strength and passion for life failed him, he could still cling faithfully to his prayer and wake up in Heaven HEALED!

Compassion and Charity. Our Dad, with conviction and steadfastness, provided for those in need and was in turn blessed beyond measure.

Credibility and Character. I witnessed a man whose word was his bond.

Career. My Father gave me the benefit of his wisdom and I have tried to apply these lessons in my business practices today.

Companion. A good wife is a gift from the Lord. My father taught me to never settle for less. I was to set my sights on a Woman with the character of my Mother. I received a very firm pat on the back when I first introduced him to Julie.

Children. I had a Dad who was my very best friend later in life. We were able to transition into friendship because early on he taught me, by example, to grow in God's word. So, I will teach my son Jonathan in the same fashion. Trusting that through example and faithful prayer, my son will grow to be the kind of person his Papa would respect and be proud of.

Still searching his Bible, I discovered again Proverbs 17:6. And, I quote.

"ChildrenÕs children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children."

Then I realized why I couldn't land on a specific verse to completely describe my Father. He was much too important in my life to have only impacted me with a single verse. He lived his life and an example of the entire book of Proverbs.

And those "C" letter character descriptions I spoke of earlier, they are often referred to in the book of Proverbs just as they were part of his character. The part of him that made him our "DAD."

Now in his final lesson as our earthly Dad, He again gives us a "C " letter lesson and characteristic. And it has come full circle from our earliest recollection to today and that is,

Christianity. We gain peace and comfort though exercising our faith in Christ that he faithfully prayed for. He most definitively played a significant role in developing and maturing Christ-like qualities and characteristics in both Karen and Me.

For you see, because of our Dad, Not only do we know we have a Heavenly Father, We know we have a Father that is in Heaven.

Thank you

He was Strong yet tender, Sincere yet witty, Wise yet humble, Capable yet loving. A man that had an enormous positive impact on me.
We shared much in life. We loved the out of doors, fishing, hunting, playing golf, and just riding along to our favorite destinations and enjoying one another's company.
We worked together in many ways. We had a business together, shared business ideas, and raised prize winning Texas Longhorn cattle. We worked together in church administration for many years. Even when relocation saw us worshiping in different churches, we conversed much about how to do things better in building GodÕs kingdom.
But most of all, we enjoyed singing together. We sang in choirs, male choruses, duets, and quartettes.
But now he is singing in heavenly ensembles. We will sing together again in a place where our voices will blend all the more beautifully, endlessly praising our God and Savior whom he dearly loved. A place where our fishing lines will not tangle, there will be plenty of wild game, and our tee shots will never go out of bounds.

See you then, buddy.

Eldred