The last time I heard my dad’s voice was the day before I started driving to Nashville, Tennessee from Saskatchewan.
Photo credit Sofia Petelina
My dad always loved to hear the stories about my Music City visits.
He was so excited that I was working with Amanda, my producer and cowriter, with all her success and talent, and always asked about what was going on with my new music.
He followed her on Facebook, and usually knew what was going on before I did.
My dad was like a super hero to me. When I was younger, I thought he could lift a car with one hand. He had such a strong personality.
He came to a lot of shows and the two of us had a lot of fun hunting and partying together over the years.
Sheldon and his dad
As he got older, it was hard for me to accept not seeing him as that strong man who used to be able to track moose in the snow three feet deep become a guy who could hardly stand and walk three feet across the room.
He passed away on June 28, 2022 at the ripe old age of 76.
We had just wrapped up recording a batch of new songs for the album project the day before, and one of them called “Death of a Small Town Dreamer” ended up being a tribute to my dad.
And here we are nearly a year later, and it’s so hard to believe he’s been gone for that long.
I’m glad I didn’t race off back to Canada when I got the news about my dad passing away.
Instead, I spend the day as planned visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame where we honored Amanda’s dad Kim Williams, who was born on June 28.
Photo credit Sofia Petelina
She says he would have called that “synchronicity” – the meaningful coincidence of my dad passing on her dad’s birthday.
A few days later in the small town of Weekes, Saskatchewan, Canada, I played “Death of a Small Town Dreamer” at my dad’s memorial.
I prayed for the strength to get though it and Thank God I did.
Thank you, Dad for always being there and always being my super hero in life.
For all you dads out there, thanks for being there for us kids.
As a dad myself, I know there is no greater joy than seeing your kids do well, and I am so proud of my sons as they make their way in the world.
Happy Father’s Day. Watch out for animals and aliens out there.
