That's What Dads Do

By Dee Hanshaw

I don't know how you get the nominees for Dad of the Month, but I would sure like to put my husband, Vesper Hanshaw, in the running! He's gone way above the line of duty, so to speak! We raised one family, and are starting on another, not by plan, but by having no choice.

He was disabled in 1987, but continued to do all he was able – and a lot he wasn't – to raise our two kids. He took care of them when I had to go to work. Now that our children are 24 and 25, we're raising our grandbaby, 3, and an 18-year-old that doesn't even belong to us at all! Her mother passed away when she was 16. The mother had asked us to take her and take care of her until she could manage, if that did happen (since the girl is mentally ill, I don't think she'll ever be able to care for herself!). He also tries to help his dad who's in his 80s and has Alzheimer's.

Before he was disabled in a work accident at age 31, he worked any and all jobs he could find – construction, gas wells, timbering, always out in the cold and harsh weather! Whenever someone would say something to him about working so hard, he would say, "I have a family that depends on me!" To him, that's all it was. Just that simple. He was the dad and that's what dad's do! And, as far as I'm concerned, he's the best dad in the whole world! And we all love him very much!

Dee Hanshaw is from Summersville, W.V.