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So a week has already passed since Dad died and it has mostly been a blur. A blur of activity, followed by a blur of downtime, interspersed with moments of great sadness and many more moments of joy as we learned about our Dad and the impact he had on people’s lives.

Shortly after he died, Canon Jayr (our priest) asked my brother, sister and I to send him some words about our Dad – about his life and how he lived his faith.

Some people become captains of industry or titans of Wall Street and wield great power or have a lot of money. Our dad was none of those things. He was so much more.

There is the saying that singing is praying twice. If singing is indeed praying twice, then Dad has said a lot of prayers.

Joining the boys choir that his father directed at St. Boniface in Milwaukee at a young age, he sang in choirs all his life, with his last performance about two weeks before his death.

Like all of us, he was an imperfect man in an imperfect world, but he worked hard to serve his wife, his children, his Church and the world – quietly, humbly, without fanfare.

When we think about our Dad, we think of the thousands of lives he touched.

Whether it was serving as the music librarian for the church choir, making or serving pancakes at the fundraising breakfasts, or lending his construction skills to the parish, he always pitched in to help out however he could – many times without ever being asked. It is also easy to picture him in the back of church, giving “high fives” and a smile to generations of children through the years. He so loved children.

He was a “Formica fabricator” – he made countertops and cabinets for use in homes, tables for use in laboratories, and nurses stations and other cabinetry for hospitals and offices. How many thousands of meals were prepared on those counters by families he never met? How many thousands patients were served by the nurses working at a station built by Dad?

As noted previously, he was a singer – both at church and in the community. Consider that music is the only universal language. It has the ability to change people’s lives – both for the performer and for the audience. If you estimate at least 60 church services per year for 70 years times however many attending the service – well, you do the math. Add in his performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and it is likely his singing reached well over 500,000 people.

After retiring, he volunteered at Froedtert Hospital, driving patients to and from appointments, acting as an auditor for the gift shop. Once again – serving countless others.

At the visitation for Dad, we spoke with so many people who told us how Dad impacted their lives. One person noted how when he had first joined the choir, he showed up alone at the first rehearsal. Dad noticed him standing off by himself and motioned him to come sit by him. He took him under his wing – showing him the ropes and introducing him to others. It was a gesture that he never forgot.

Here is what someone else from the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus wrote shortly after learning of Dad’s death.

And a close friend of his wrote a blog post describing him as a professional amateur – a nice tribute to how Dad approached life.

And yet another person provided us with the words that became the title for this note. We could not think of a more fitting description for Dad.

So – when we think of our Dad, we think of how he lived out his Catholic faith. Putting others first and setting the example for others. Always with a smile on his face and a song in his heart.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord…

This was originally written and posted on Facebook by my brother, Bob Fichtner.