He is a man.
He is my father.
He is a son. one of eight.
He is a brother to five brothers and two sisters.
He is a husband to one woman of almost forty-seven years.
I know, because I am his first born and I will be 46 in September this year.
He is the Father of three, including myself, my sister and my brother.
He is the grandfather of two.
He is the great-grandfather of many yet to be.

He was a good student and a leader in school at Parker's Chapel in south Arkansas. Where he wrote their school Alma Mater. He was a celebrated hero one year when he saved the school from a roaring brush fire in the field nearby. To this day few people know he may have been instrumental in accidentally starting that fire.

He is a teacher, like many relatives both before and after him.
He is an educator.
First a history teacher and a vice principal. then an economics professor, who completed his doctorate with a wife and three kids.
Now that I know what that means, I am further awed by this man.
He is a brilliant educator who has had the opportunity to touch the lives of thousands through the confidence and support of Bessie Moore, who recognized his gifts and talents many years ago and endowed the Bessie B. Moore Center for Economic Education.

He is an adventurer who has traveled the world.
From state parks in the United States with family on vacation to third world countries like Russia, South America, the Czech Republic, and China. all in an effort to further educate someone, whether that be a stranger or his own children.
He is an athlete, from the Hog-Eye Marathon to basketball, to the title winning softball phenomenon, Dismal Scientists.

He is a military veteran,
He is an amateur sailor,
He is a dedicated outdoorsman, who camped with his family for 41 years before building a cabin with bathrooms and heating and air. I'm still not convinced he would have built bathrooms or installed air conditioning, had he not left me, my brother and sister in charge of the construction while he was away teaching in Italy three years ago.

He is a determined gardener, who can grow vegetables, but not grass in his own yard.
First and foremost in my mind he is an exceptional father and grandfather, who has inspired all he has touched to be the best they can be; by example, sheer will and sometimes in my case, threat. Six weeks before my wedding, he told me I would not be getting married unless I finished a correspondence course I needed to graduate. I finished the course. By example, I have been married for 24 years this year.

His retirement, though well deserved, is the educational community's loss and our family's gain. Congratulations on your retirement Tom, Daddy, Papaw. and may you continue your accomplishments and contributions in this world, by retiring to spend your days with family and fulfilling your promise to write "Stories of Old Dan" for generations of McKinnon offspring to come.

I Love You Always,
Laura