Given September 12, 2020 at the William Gene Fuchs Memorial Service, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Taylor, Texas
If I could talk with my dad just one more time, I think I would want to honor and thank him, and remind him how much I love him, and how much God loves him. So here, I want to celebrate my dad’s life, faith and love.
Celebrating His Life
A little more than 23 years ago, I honored both my parents with a tribute for their 40th Wedding Anniversary. In keeping with the Fourth Commandment to “honor your father and your mother,” I wrote out various aspects of each of them that I appreciated. What I shared in August 1997 still holds true, so I want to share the acrostic of “FATHER” and the special attributes of my dad.
F
- Faithful
- Fisherman
- Fuchs Family Name
A
- Adventurous
- Alaska Lover
- Army Veteran
T
- Trustworthy
- Traveler
- Thrall Tiger
H
- Head of Household
- Hug Giver
- Hummingbird Watcher
E
- Entrepreneur
- Economical
- Educator
R
- Risk-Taker
- Rock Hound
- Robin’s Birthday (Dad and I shared the same birthday of December 23rd.)
These are just a few of the special things about my dad and his very interesting life of 87 years.
Celebrating His Faith
Yet even more enduring was my dad’s faith in God. Raised in a Lutheran home and graduating from a Lutheran college, my dad felt it most important to also raise his family with Christian values. As children, we learned about God and the Bible, and were very active in the church. Our Christian faith and obedience to God were so very important to both Mom and Dad.
This faith gave each of us kids a strong foundation on God, the Solid Rock. We each have trusted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and desire to walk with and follow the Lord in our daily lives.
For me personally, my faith in Jesus has guided me in my vocation as well. I have served as a missionary with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) for 25 years now.
My faith has also guided me in my relationships; God provided me with a godly husband, Joe; and then blessed us with our son, Noah.
Celebrating His Love
Dad dearly loved his family, friends and God.
Especially in his later years, Dad had a growing desire for others to know the Lord. Some of his favorite Bible verses are found in the third chapter of the book of John, including those about being born again, and about God’s love.
- John 3:3 – Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
- John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Yet as mentioned in 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.” I know Dad was only able to love because God loved him first. And we know from 1 Corinthians 13 that “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends … So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Remembering Dad …
God is sovereign and knows the number of each of our days (Psalm 139:16). Although my heart grieves, I trust that Dad is in the loving presence of Jesus, and enjoying the peace and freedoms of heaven for which he longed!
I also believe Matthew 25:21 was true for my dad: “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”
So, I say farewell to my dad:
Dad, you have been a wonderful father, father-in-law and grandfather. We love you dearly. We trust you are in heaven with Jesus. We will see you again on the other side of eternity!
With love, Robin (and Joe and Noah)
A Gift
As you leave today, you can take with you an amethyst stone, one of Dad’s favorites partly because they are purple, Dad’s favorite color. It can be a small memento to remember Dad, and to join with us in celebrating his life, faith and love.