Growing up we look at our parents as these immortal beings. People that will always be around when you need them to comfort your sorrows, hold your hand when you need it, and talk some sense into you when you are being a dumbass. We take advantage of the the precious time we have, not realizing that the clock is ticking to another day when they might no longer be there to give you one more hug.
On the morning of Thursday, March 24, 2022, I lost my father - John J. Feola. No warning. No time to say goodbye. He was just gone. He went to bed on March 23rd at 8 PM and just never woke up. Time is something that can't be bought. We think there will always be a tomorrow, but in reality we are never promised that. We need to cherish the moments we have everyday. We need to put up boundaries between the work we are doing and the life we are striving for as without the ones we love is any of it really worth it?
My dad was a man of strength. He pushed people out of their comfort zones and saw who they could become even when others couldn't see it. He believed that learning something new everyday was invaluable and that financial planning was the way to a happy and successful life. My dad and I would spend hours on the phone talking about everything and nothing, reading through comments on articles that we would laugh about - sometimes the comments were better than the article.
He loved all things WWII related and was facinated about anything with Hitler and the Holocaust. He was one of the few people that I knew that really learned from history and past mistakes. His father also died suddenly and a few days prior to his passing his dad said to him "You are missing it." When I got older, we talked about this endlessly. My dad said at the time he didn't really understand what his father meant. He was lost in his own greif, working all the time, and never truly around his family. As I got older, that is all that mattered to my father - his family and the time he got to spend with us, even if it was just for an hour watching a documentary or in passing for 30 minutes with a quick conversation.
He wanted people to be better and do better in the world, which is why he created the Cummings Feola Family Foundation. This is his legacy. He wanted people to understand how to handle their finances so they could be with their families because at the end of the day that is the only WHY that matters. In the words of Dolly Parton, "If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are an excellent leader." - And yes my dad was; he is and will always be my hero.
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