Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey Shares Touching Message About His Father
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard Sheriff // June 19, 2023
Message from Sheriff Wayne Ivey
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Not a day goes by that I don’t miss my Dad who I lost to cancer back in 1997.
We first learned of the diagnosis in 1993 and for four long years he fought a courageous battle against what turned out to be an unbeatable opponent.
Until the day he died, my father was my best friend, my mentor, my disciplinarian, and my sounding board on all things, and he was always there when I needed him, and even when I didn’t know I needed him!! Throughout my life my father was the man I looked up to and did my best to emulate.
You see, when he died, I lost all of those things in one fell swoop, my best friend, mentor, disciplinarian, and sounding board, all gone in the blink of an eye. What I didn’t lose though, was the man I will forever look up to and the man I hope to one day be.
Since the day he passed, I can’t count how many times I have thought about picking up the phone and calling him to celebrate something, to get advice, to laugh, to cry, and to just hear his reassuring voice.
To this day I remember his telephone number as if I may one day call and get an answer.
My Dad was who made me and my brothers the men we are today.
He taught us to stand up for what’s right, to be gentlemen, to be courteous, to have a sense of humor, and to never back down from our convictions and beliefs.
I miss him every single day of my life and there is nothing I wouldn’t give to sit and talk with him again or even to call his telephone and him to answer…absolutely nothing.
So my charge to you today, is to not wait until it’s too late to go spend time with your Dad.
Spend time while you can and if geography stands in the way of seeing him in person, then call him, face-time with him, heck, for that matter, Skype with him. Don’t wait, do it right now before all you have is the memory of his phone number and the prayer that he would answer.
I was blessed to have an amazing relationship with my Dad and I was by his side to the very end.
I know deep in my heart that my Dad sits above and is a Guardian Angel over me, our family, our agency, and our community. I also know I will see my Dad again one day and when I do we have a lot of catching up to do and a whole bunch of laughs to share.
I hope every Dad in our community gets exactly what they want this Father’s Day…a chance to spend time with their kids who they love so dear. It’s not about gifts, or cards, or even cool T-shirts, it’s about spending time together, creating memories, and just hanging out while you can.
– Sheriff Wayne Ivey
