James Robert Hillis..June 25 1924-August18 1997

Last Month the Hillis family celebrated our Mothers 85th Birthday, and needless to say it was a happy time, even though my Father was only there in spirit as he had passed away in 1997. On Thursday June 25th he also would have turned 85 and i am sure a good party would have happened.
In a past story i wrote humorously about things my dad had taught me and while many were based in truth, obviously they were meant to bring a smile to everybody's face,however there were many things that i learned from my dad that were very important to who i am.
He taught me to admit when i was wrong, something that is very tough for many people to do. He taught me to drive, and to respect the road and others on it. He also made sure to let me know that you don't try to be somebody else, just be yourself. He taught me to be careful about what you say about other people, as it could come back to bite you. He taught me the importance of family, even though i didn't know it at the time. And while my Dad was big on involvement in sports, when he realized that i liked watching hockey but was not big on playing organized shinny, he was cool with it and told me to do what i liked. He tried to get me into hunting, but soon came to the conclusion that shooting animals was not in my blood and again was okay with it. But i think the most important thing that i learned from my dad was how to laugh and make people around me laugh as well. Oh, and if you have read the column on things my dad taught me, well, Flatulence and how to use it is still one thing he taught me that i still use well to this day. Happy Birthday Dad.