What Legacy Looks Like

A letter to my dad on his retirement after 40 years

My dad just retired from his 40-year career yesterday, and I’m really proud of him.

He started as an engineer working for Digital, Compaq, HP, HPE, and developed into much more. He’s been one of my biggest supporters (and reads ALL my posts), and I think I inherited my love for writing from him.

People spend a lifetime building a legacy, and I think it’s wild that we don’t do more to celebrate people while they’re alive and have crossed monumental milestones.

So this one is for you, Dad:

1. I’m proud of what you created and how much you provided for our family. My mom, my two sisters, and me. You even got the whole cliché. Three daughters, white picket fence, golden retriever, cul-de-sac living. But it was never just a cliché to us. It was home. It was safety. It was the foundation you worked so hard to give us, and I don’t take that for granted.

2. A solid, steady rock. You have always been a solid, steady rock for us. In more ways than one. A solid rock that taught me to normalize: “This world is SAFE. Go out there and do THE things.” That is a baseline I realize not everyone has. A norm to me is a luxury to others. This baseline safety taught me it’s safe to take risks.

3. Your work ethic has been infused into me. That was my standard and given.

4. You have been incredibly devoted to your craft, work, and family. Even beyond your work. Growing up, you prioritized coaching me through basketball, soccer, and giving me running advice in any season. Very involved. You have been incredibly consistent and supportive. You even had that devotional energy to your passion for running ultra marathons!

5. Your leadership. I have only known you leading organizations of people in your work. I have been watching you and appreciate the humility of how you manage people, the empathy, understanding, and how you speak about them. That may be why we know: “A secret is always safe with dad.”

6. Your curiosity, which expressed itself as your support. When my focus shifted to crypto, you read A LOT about crypto. You watched videos. You got curious about what I was learning. You didn’t know… but you let curiosity follow you. When I went deeper into entrepreneurship, you dove into my business models, celebrated me for speaking on stages, and kept asking me: “When will you give your TedX?”

7. The niceties of life. I love that you have always valued the pretty things in life too… You took excellent care of your car, showing the importance of tending to what you own and honoring the things you work hard for. You prioritized a few vacations every year. Time where you turned off, we made memories with my grandparents, and we all explored new experiences and places. Even if we somehow always found a simple chicken dish, club wrap, or fettuccine alfredo to fit your palette!

8. Your creative sides. Yes, you’re an engineer and… you’re a writer, writing countless sports articles for the newspaper. You’re a reader. You’re our travel advisor and guide. You’re a painter. You taught yourself the guitar. Always creating.

9. Having a stay-at-home mom. I love that you prioritized having my mom by my side. Stay-at-home mom. I now realize how intentional of a move it was for both you and mom. Mom giving up her career. And you making sure you were always providing for us. Filled with sacrifices but also dedication to your plan and us. I am grateful to have that consistency as a child, knowing my mom was always there. Even when life got hectic, I still knew: “I was safe in the world. Support was abundant.” And now, that shows up with the speed of both you and mom answering my texts.

10. Your teamwork with Mom. I know marriage takes work. You grow as individuals, your roles shift, us kids poke you, challenges come and go, all while raising kids. I’ve loved watching your marriage evolve over the years and through every season. The teamwork between you two has been something I’ve admired.

11. Your legacy. As I now am pretty obsessed with the future & legacy building, I look at many people as: “what is the legacy you have built (or are building)?” “What’s the imprint that you’ve made in the world?” “What’s the imprint I’m making in the world?” “What imprints actually matter?” Your consistency, focus, and stability has proven to create a pretty cool legacy. I’m proud to be part of your legacy.

12. Navigating change. I know how devoted you are to your routine and… I am so proud to watch you embrace this chapter of retirement, even if this past year has been a testing one and you are closing out a FORTY-year chapter. The goal post shifts. You and mom get to enjoy and harvest the fruits of your labor. Like our recent trip to Europe with seeing your German birth town, biking through the Austrian alps and cheerleading Bethany as she ran the Berlin marathon. Novel memories. So hopefully (and definitely), more traveling. More creations. Maybe a new hobby. Who knows, but I’m excited to see where this new era of retirement takes you. This is the beginning of something new. That ‘something new’ is something to get curious about.

I just wanted to say: Thank you, Dad. I appreciate you. I love you.

Love, Whitney

A montage of memories we love and endlessly giggle over