*Written January 21, 2013*

The one-year anniversary of my father’s death rapidly approaches and I have found myself contemplating the past year without his presence.  Dad and I were so close, as close as any daughter could be to her father.  We were so much alike, yet different in many ways.  Dad was always someone I could talk to and know I would get that “realistic perspective” of life, and he was never afraid to tell me his honest opinion-even if it was completely opposite of what I wanted to hear.

Dad touched a lot of lives for the 72 years he called Earth home.  He was a husband, a father, an uncle, and a grandfather.  But what he loved being the most was a doctor.  For the sake of time and space, Dad’s medical career was outstanding.  He started out as a general practitioner in the Air Force back…