In honor of Father’s Day, we asked residents to nominate their favorite dads. The response was overwhelming. Here are just a few of the many special dads in our community.
Photo by © Oksana Kukuruza Dreamstime.com
ROGER KIKAWA, 79
Roger Kikawa met his future wife at a Halloween party. “When he asked me out, I said, ‘I can’t go, I have kids,’” Sandy Kikawa recalls. “He said, ‘Bring them!’ We went to a Disney movie.”
Four decades later, Roger and Sandy have six children and 11 grandchildren. The oldest, Jeff and Jennifer, took Roger’s last name, and their Japanese American siblings rarely noticed a difference. “He just took on these two little blond-haired, blue-eyed kids as his own,” Jennifer said.
The family still laughs about how Evan, the youngest, didn’t realize Jeff and Jennifer were his half-siblings until he was 13: “I didn’t think anything of the fact that they looked different from me.”
Roger, who still works as a pharmacist at 79, often came home to a house full of his own children and neighborhood kids. “He’d get down on the floor and play with those kids, too,” Sandy said.
Jennifer said her father never missed her varsity water polo games, even if he arrived late. “He always shows up, even now. He pops by with toilet paper or cereal saying, ‘I was just at Costco …’” His family describes him as humble, generous and frugal. Jeff once threw an old pair of running shoes in the trash only to see his dad wearing them the next day. “I think they’re still pretty good,” Roger shrugged.
“I’ve just tried to do the best job I can,” Roger says. “Time goes by so fast. Your kids are in preschool and the next thing you know, they’re in high school. Spend every minute you can with them.”
ALEX MAYEA, 42
For Alex Mayea, just about any day is “take your kids to work” day. Jordyn, 12, and Mikey, 7, love keeping him company at his local auto repair shop, Automotive Excellence.
“My kids are my best friends,” Mayea, 42, says. “I try to be a part of their lives as much as possible.”
“They’re practically growing up at his shop, ‘helping’ however they can--like it’s the most exciting place in the world,” says mom Yvonne Mayea.
Her husband creates one-on-one experiences with his kids, such as motorcycle riding with Jordyn. When Mikey was in preschool, Dad showed up in a Spiderman costume just to give him a thrill.
“He can put a smile on your face in a matter of seconds, no matter the situation,” says Jordyn.
Alex enjoys the simple moments, too: “I love playing boardgames with my kids so they’re not just zoning out on video games. We get into good conversations. I’m fascinated by watching their little personalities and senses of humor develop.”
BUD GARDNER, 89
Bud and Sandy Gardner wanted to add just one more child to their brood of three boys--specifically, a girl child. So they adopted 8-week-old Laurie.
“I never for one day in my life felt different from the other children,” Laurie Mitchell says. “I grew up in a stable family full of unconditional love. My friends used to say, ‘Hey, can your parents adopt me, too?’” A college baseball star, Gardner coached his sons in Little League, one of whom went on to play for the San Diego Padres Gardner, an executive for a semiconductor firm, taught his children to give back. “He always said, ‘We’re here to help others before ourselves.” Mitchell recalls. His volunteer work included traveling to developing countries with the Free Wheelchair Mission.
Tragically, Gardner’s wife died from muscular dystrophy in 2000. A decade later, the degenerative disease also claimed two sons.
“Dad and I took care of them, and now I’m taking care of him,” Mitchell says. Gardner, 89, has Alzheimer’s and lives with his daughter. “He’s still the happiest guy I know. My father is the greatest man who ever lived.”
RICH HEIM, 61
At age 8, Sammy Heim, now 28, was diagnosed with soft tissue cancer. In and out of CHOC for more than a year, her ever-present father entertained and reassured her. “We had this thing we called ‘Daddy medicine’— a good energy that only he could bring,” she says.
“I refused to think anything other than that she would recover,” says Rich Heim, 61, a sales representative. “But it was hard. Her mother and I simultaneously had to worry: ‘How do we parent our other child, keep our jobs, pay our bills?’” He still feels “wracked with guilt” for his distraction from older daughter Alex, then a high school freshman: “Friends and relatives drove her around and fixed her dinner. She spent a lot of time without us.”
When her parents split up several years later, Sammy moved into an apartment with her dad. “We needed each other,” she says.
Cancer-free for almost 20 years, Sammy has found a passion for writing. She is now student teaching and studying for a credential.
Every family get-together, Rich Heim says, he cries tears of happiness: “I have two amazingly strong and independent daughters.”
DWAYNE MOSES, 95
Dwayne Moses’ six children grew up outdoors—camping, fishing, biking and hanging out at the beach. Many of those adventures led to some unintended funny moments.
“One time dad took me and a friend to Eastern Sierra for opening trout season,” remembers son Michael Moses. “We got there late at night, and snow covered the ground. Our tent stakes kept bending as we tried to drive them into the ground. The next morning, we realized were in the middle of a paved road!”
A graphics artist, Dwayne Moses created the logo for Orange Coast Community. “Dad gave us the gift of creativity,” says daughter Dianne Moses-Kelly. “He never bought us coloring books because he believed we should use our imagination to create our own masterpieces.”
“My biggest accomplishments are my children,” Moses says. “We raised all of them to be great people who are involved in their communities, hard workers and themselves wonderful parents.”
Father’s Day is Sunday, June 21. Be sure to tell your dad how much they mean to you.