Verlin Anson Hatch

Today marks the one year anniversary of my dad's passing from this life to the next. Last night Brian and I were enjoying music at the piano, and it hit me that at that time last year I was with my entire family (all 41 of us) saying goodbye. So many memories came back, and although there were some that brought tears, they were all good memories (except for the morning sickness that started that week).

My dad, to me, was a mentor. Most of all, he was an example and a beacon of righteous living. My last youth conference my mom and dad came along. We were in Wyoming and one of the vehicles had broken down. My dad had looked at it the night before we were to leave, but couldn't figure out the problem. He went to bed that night and said a prayer asking the Lord to show him what needed to be done. The next morning, he still couldn't figure it out. We were all loading into the bus to travel home, and the owner of the vehicle was going to have to stay behind at this ranch we were staying at. I remember sitting down with my dad, and just before we were about to leave he got off the bus and told them to go on ahead. He was pretty confident that he would be able to fix the vehicle and said they would meet up with us when we stopped for lunch. I don't know that I could have told everyone to go ahead. I'd be afraid that I would be stuck without a way to return home. We stopped at a Wal-Mart parking lot for lunch, and about twenty minutes later my dad came pulling in to the parking lot. He was so confident that he could fix it, not because of his own knowledge, but because of his faith and relationship that he had with our Heavenly Father.

I could tell countless stories of the things I learned from my earthly father, but the most important thing that I learned from him (and of course my mother) is to trust in the Lord. He also taught me to serve (sometimes it drives Brian crazy because I have a hard time knowing when it's okay to say no).

Thank You Dad!