This is my Father's Day Playlist. It seems no matter what I am doing or where I am, these songs will always remind me of him whenever I hear them and bring back so many memories. I still love and miss him very much, so Happy Heavenly Father's Day Dad. I'm picking 12 of your favorites that were in heavy rotation in our house!

1. "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" - The Temptations
2. "Bring The Boys Home" - Freda Payne
3. "Everyday People" - Sly & The Family Stone
4. "I Stand Accused" - Isaac Hayes
5. "I'll Take You There" - The Staple Singers
6. "Poison Ivy" - The Coasters
7. "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" - Jackie DeShannon
8. "In The Midnight Hour" - Wilson Pickett
9. "Road Runner" - Jr. Walker & The All Stars
10. "Wang Dang Doodle" - Koko Taylor
11. "You Gave Me Something" - The Fantastic Four
12. "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher & Higher" - Jackie Wilson

This was a still photo converted to a quick video via Facebook after a Father's Day visitation. In addition to flowers, we left 2 small U.S. flags at the gravesite in celebration of Juneteenth as a national holiday on the same day.

This is the last of dad's barber shop wall calendars. It reflects a bygone era in many ways, like phone numbers with alphabets. It was still in the house but frayed and worn because it's 58 years old. Thanks to my daughter Tasha for the discovery and sending me a pic of it. It has been digitally restored now and not by someone else. It was a labor of love that I decided to work on myself. I only wish dad was here to see it!

Remembering dad, his expertise for cutting hair, and where his barber shop used to be located on 60th Street near Larchwood Avenue in SW Philly. I started 1st grade at Bryant Elementary School, which was one block up the street, in 1964. He took me to school in the morning, picked me up for lunch at the shop, took me back for class in the afternoon, and picked me up again at the end of the day. This is a fairly recent pic of the building, which is still there, and he was the one who "shaped up" my Jackson 5 afro in the 10th grade.

I thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories, and your picture in a frame.

In life I loved you dearly, in death I love you still. In my heart you hold a place, that no one could ever fill. It broke my heart to lose you, but you didn't go alone. For part of me went with you, the day God took you home.

No farewell words were spoken, no time to say goodbye. You were gone before we knew it, and only God knows why. A million times I needed you, a million times I cried. If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died.

Gone yet not forgotten, although we are apart, your spirit lives within me, forever in my heart. Nothing can ever take away, the love a heart holds dear. Fond memories linger every day, remembrance keeps you near.

A gift for such a little while, your loss just seems so wrong. You should not have left before us, it’s with loved ones you belong. Your memory is my keepsake, with which I’ll never part. God has you in His keeping, I have you in my heart.

If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I’d walk right up to heaven, and bring you home again. Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same.But as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.

- Author Unknown

I am in the final stages of life after a long battle with several health ailments. The doctors tell my loving wife of 45 years this morning, that I am ready to leave the hospital and shall receive in-home hospice care until the day I face my eternal sleep. Later on in the afternoon, I shall meet the nurse, who will be taking care of me. My daughter and granddaughter will be coming to visit later this evening. I don't know how many days I have left. I just know that I want to spend time with my family as often as the sun rises.

As I leave the hospital this morning to go home, I feel an overwhelming sense of happiness. Though I cannot see or hear very well as a result of my fading health, I can sense my wife, Doris. Her presence is very soothing and it helps with the transition that my soul is starting to make from here to the after life. When we reach home, she gives me a bath and lies me down on the bed. She sits with me, in a chair right beside me. I thank her for sticking by me all these years, even though I know I did things in the past and don't deserve it. She tells me to rest because the nurse will be coming by soon to introduce herself.

Around one o'clock this afternoon, the nurse arrives. She is very nice and lively. Being in her company not only makes me forget about the pain of dying, but reminds me of the joy of living. She asks me if I would like something to eat. I tell her no and I would just prefer a glass of water. My wife expresses some concern to the nurse about my lack of appetite lately. It hurts to much to eat now and I know my time on earth is rapidly coming to an end. But, I have to make it through the day because my beloved daughter and granddaughter are coming! The voices of my wife and the nurse's conversation about me begin to fade as I drift off to sleep.

Doris wakes me up around 5:30pm that evening to let me know that my only child, Rosalyn has finally arrived. Even though I am extremely tired, hearing my daughter's voice is music to my ears. Then, in a sudden panic, I realize that my granddaughter, Tasha, is not here. "Where's Tasha?", I ask with as much strength as I can muster. Rosalyn tells me with much regret that she had to work late and she would be sure to come by tomorrow. I know it is hard for her to see me in such a sick and weakened state. Whenever she visited me in the hospital, I could always overhear her crying tears of sorrow. Though I am disappointed, I am sure I can hold on for one more day to see her. Doris introduces Rosalyn to my nurse, and they sit and talk about old times. As the evening draws to an end, Rosalyn bends down and gives me a hug and kiss goodnight, neither of us knowing if it was going to be our last embrace. My wife walks her to the door and they exchange hugs before my daughter leaves. She then walks over to my bedside and tells me to get some rest.

I never did get a chance to say goodbye to Tasha. The next morning while my wife bathed me, I took my last breath and my spirit left my body to join the angels up above. Looking back on the life I shared with my family, the good times as well as the bad, I know that I was truly blessed to be loved by my wife Doris, who was there for me every step of the way, and my daughter Rosalyn, who will always be daddy's little girl. And, to my precious granddaughter Tasha, I will always remember the joy in your eyes when I would make your favorite dish of goat and potatoes. I miss all of you more than you will ever know. I will always be watching over you and protecting you. One sweet day, we will be together again.

- Tasha S. Martin