My dad turned 80 years old this week. I did not realize at first he would be reaching this milestone until my sister-in-law asked me which birthday this would be for him.
It’s funny, my dad just doesn’t age to me. I guess it has to do with how he lives his life, always keeping busy and never letting any obstacle get in his way.
As a child, I can remember my dad working until all hours of the night in his little office next to our garage at our house in Marion Park.
This was where he would do accounting work for others in the evenings after his daytime government job.
My dad was always looking for ways to provide more for Mom, my younger brothers and me.
Later on after taking a job with Mr. F.L. Cappaert as a private accountant, dad’s work ethic continued.
He invested his time and money into building apartments here in town and worked on them during his free time and on weekends, all of which assured for his and mom’s future and college for us kids.
After retiring as a private accountant, dad got into the building business fulltime. It was a natural fit for him since his father had also been a builder.
And not only was dad proficient with the homes he constructed, he was also a visionary when it came to developing segments of land, many of which he turned into neighborhoods.
Dad has done well for himself, but one would never know by the vehicles he drives. I think his red truck is on its last leg, and he will not let go of mom’s old Lincoln.
It is still parked in their garage.
Dad is frugal and prudent to a fault when it comes to some things but silently generous when it comes to helping others.
As for hobbies, my dad did not have the usual interests like playing golf, hunting or fishing like most men. It seemed he just spent most of his free time fixing things like small engines and motors.
There was a pastime, however, that my dad did eventfully take up, and that was flying.
It makes sense that a person like my dad would love being airborne where he could be near the heavens and experience the peacefulness of the sky.
In 1994, dad’s life turned upside down.
In a plane crash involving my Dad and his brother, Dad’s brother was killed, and Dad suffered a spinal cord injury.
At first, we were not sure if dad would survive the accident, but with a vision of his grandchildren surrounding him, he chose to fight and live.
Dad spent months in a rehabilitation hospital in Jackson trying to learn how to live with his disability, and with sheer determination, he eventually willed himself to walk again with the aid of a cane.
Despite all of his challenges, my dad refuses to let life get the best of him.
And with all the material things he has given me in my life, it is this undeniable strength to keep going, his devotion to God, his love of family, his indubitable work ethic, and his passion to live life to the fullest that I am most thankful.
I am one lucky girl.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer for The Post. She can be reached at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.