My Dad, Pasquale DeStefano, touched the lives of many people. Not the least of all, his family. He was a social worker for more than 40 years, and had a way of listening that would immediately put anyone at ease. My Dad was a kind, gentle, loving man who adored his family above all else and always had great stories to tell about the "old days" growing up in Brooklyn with his many brothers and sisters. He never got to write a book, like he always dreamed of, but his stories live on in my younger brother and myself.

My father was a hero in the truest sense of the word. As he battled his liver cancer disease, he promised me-and all his doctors-he would be able to walk me down the aisle when I got married. On my wedding day, he was a source of quiet strength and dignity. He was very, very sick, but he walked me down the aisle of the church and gave me away. It was one of his greatest gifts to me. My dad passed away at home with his family four days later. God took him from this earth much sooner than I would have liked Him to, but I know my Dad is always with me. And he is looking down from Heaven now.

-Karin DeStefano Fey