The Best Man I Ever Knew
Dad was the best man I ever knew. He wasn’t the best because of his dreams, the risks he took to achieve them, his talents or any of his life’s adventures. Dad was the best because he was truly a MAN.
Dad was never “macho,” “tougher or better than the next guy,” nor did he ever seek the
station or swaggering position of great wealth. Dad was never interested in money or power. He
never measured his or anyone else’s value by the size of their bank account or by their station in
society. He never planned for or counted money and never glorified in position. It simply never
mattered. What Dad did have was something that seems to be lost in today’s society. He had
something called CHARACTER.
The most important things to Dad were honor, integrity, respect for everyone else, and,
above all, honesty. He lived by his word, never lied, and always followed the path of God in
loving and giving his entire being to all who were in need. He joyed in life, in the everyday
brightness of it, and in its simplicity. He taught us that a smart man “will turn away from a fight
and find a peaceful solution,” yet if anyone within his orbit was ever faced with danger that was
unresolvable peacefully, he would be the first to step up for the defense. Dad always had our
backs.
Some early acquaintances of Dad snickered at his lack of financial wealth and station,
particularly for a man with his numerous talents, and although their comments would bother me
in my early years, I learned quickly that the joke was on them. The happy one in every picture of
my life was always Dad. He was the one who had the courage not to compromise his life ideals,
and he was the one who always had a laugh, not for life’s absurdity, but rather at the wonder of
life’s rich comedy and beauty.
Dad was a MAN of great softness, a MAN of heart, and a MAN of joy. He always put
family first, and defined success as finding joy in each day. The greatest wisdom he imparted
was that if we simply live a life of goodness and give our best effort to everything we do, “things
would work out.” And the funny thing is that “it always did.”
Dad was truly the BEST MAN I ever knew.
In Loving Memory of my Dad.
Leo Peter Nyznyk
March 5, 1931 - November 16, 2017
