The Best Part of Being A Father: Bill’s Story

Holidays are all about memories, and on Father’s Day, many may be reminisce about the good times shared with their fathers and grandfathers, or the elder gentlemen thinking about the good times spent with their children and grandchildren. One such person is Immanuel Residences (Downers Grove, IL) resident, Bill Wagner. 

Bill’s loving family are at the center of his world. Read his telling of his most precious times with them:

My wife Adeline and I were blessed to create the perfect family.  We adopted five beautiful children: Cheri, Dawn Edyghe, Forrest and Glen. Every day as a family was a delightful adventure. We lived on 2 ½ acres of land where we raised chickens, grew our own vegetables and had fresh eggs every day. The kitchen is where everyone gathered, as we often cooked together and shared what was on our minds or talked about our day during our family meals. Even though I was a cook in the Navy in World War II, the family saying was “Dad can burn anything.”

Everyone was welcome at our home – including animals. We had many pet rabbits and adopted two ponies’ named Tiny and Patches, who were beloved by our children and the neighborhood kids. Tiny and Patches shared this affection and were very sweet and gentle with the children.

Every year we vacationed in Minnesota to visit family. Before we got our station wagon, I would pack everyone in our 1963 Pontiac convertible. Even though we were packed-in like sardines, we loved every minute of our road trip.  After a while I figured out we should leave at night, so the children could sleep most of the way, as daytime trips often resulted in lots and lots of potty stop requests. Our kids loved our trips to Minnesota and spending time with their cousins, sometimes playing baseball. Back in the day, children under a certain age got free admission to baseball games and we used to take the family to see the White Sox play at the old Comiskey Park.

I now have 17 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. We are all very close and get together often – as you can imagine, we have very large functions.  The best part of being a father, grandfather and great grandfather is that I am surrounded by the love of my family.

– Bill Wagner