They say things come in threes, first Sal's Mum, Toronto Girl's Mom and now my Dad, who passed away on Tuesday. His name was William and he died on St William's Day, he would have liked that.

It was a shock despite him spending the last 9 months in and out of hospital, having survived 6 heart attacks and 4 bouts of pneumonia and being in the final stage of Parkinson's disease.

I don't know if you can ever really prepare for the loss of a loved one. This time we were told it was not so serious because the pneumonia was caught early, but alas Dad's body had had enough and he experienced a quick decline. I saw him on Saturday and he seemed on the road to recovery, only to be in the final stages when I saw him Monday. So much can change within a matter of days.

At 81 he lived a good life. He was devoted to his family, worked hard and was a fun and vibrant person, who never complained and was brave despite his illness. He retired young in his early 50's and he and Mum travelled extensively. Losing Mum two years ago was very tough on him, they were the best of friends.

My childhood was a lovely one, Dad liked to play with us. This is a photo of me aged 5 years old, playing at a park. Dad was the bus driver and I was happy to swing on the monkey bars of the bus. He had 4 children, but liked to make time for each of us and would often take me to this playground as my sisters (who were 5 years older) had no interest in playgrounds then. It was wonderful to have the undivided attention of my Dad.

Photo 2 - At my Dad's 80th birthday party, a big celebration with family and friends. He was so thrilled for me when I finally had a child and thought the world of my son.

I have a lovely and big family and lots of support from friends too. I wanted to share this with you because I had seen Sal's and Helena's posts and drew a certain level of comfort from their beautiful tributes to their amazing parents. Love lives on.