Papa.

One of the most important things we did every time we went to Louisiana was spend time with Papa. He would always tell us that he had 'rooms available at his hotel'.

Now that he is gone, we will always have memories of the wonderful times we had together, like seeing the swamp on his boat, going to church with him (and eating biscuits afterwards), going to see his projects in his woodshop, eating his famous strawberry ice-cream (this always reminded me of my Grandma Helena, she also made ice-cream), playing dominoes, hearing his stories about family, airplanes and the military, and I will never forget the time he 'took me on a date' at Don's Seafood, him giving me away at the wedding, and, of course, the year he called me a day earlier for my birthday, saying he wanted to be the first one to wish me a happy one. =o)

We will always cherish all the presents he made for us, especially the dollhouse and garage for Bianca and Thomas, an early Christmas present, that he made with the loving help of his family and many friends.

Many times when we visited him, he would give us something dear to his heart, and that was always very special.

Even though I didn't spend a whole lot of time with him, I feel like I have enough memories to miss him very much. I wish he could always be there.

I will always be thankful for the space in his heart he dedicated to me, and very thankful to everyone in his family, who has always treated me in a way that makes me feel like I am family.

I used to call him Mr. Miller, then once he said to me that he would be honored if I called him Papa, and, after a little while, I did, and that felt good.

Getting close to someone is not always easy, but sometimes, it just really does happen.

With love from all of us.