A Father's Day tribute to readers' real-life heroes

Jun. 18—Great fathers always seem to save the day, as displayed by several Star Beacon readers, who answered the question, 'Was your dad your hero, and why?' for our Father's Day edition.

Ashtabula Police Capt. Gerald Cornelius' father, the late William E. Cornelius of Ashtabula, was a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, so he was very conscientious about water safety, Cornelius said.

One afternoon in the mid-1950s, he took his family fishing by the old Coast Guard station. Gerald, who was 8 or 9 years old at the time, fell in the water.

"We were on the rocks and I was reaching down and I fell in," he said. "Luckily, my brother pulled me out."

They packed up their fishing gear and went home so Gerald could change his clothes.

"He then takes us under the viaduct to fish in the river and we saw some kids on the other side, but we didn't think much of it at the time," he said. "We did notice the water was up high and the water was moving real fast."

It wasn't long after they arrived that they heard a commotion coming from the other side of the river.

"There was a girl out in the middle of the river with her head just barely above the water," Cornelius said. "My father never hesitated nor stopped to remove his shoes or wallet. He took off in a dead run as the current swept the girl away."

William Cornelius dove into the water and swam to the girl who told him her brother was underneath her in the water, hanging on to her legs.

"My dad dove down under water and he pulled the boy out," he said. "Now he's got a girl about 11 years old and a little boy hanging onto his neck, but the current was so strong that he couldn't swim back to where we were. He swam down river and worked his way to the shoreline."

Cornelius said it was quite a spectacle to watch the rescue and his father never got or wanted any recognition for his heroics.

"But had I not fell in the water that day, those kids would have drown because there was no one else around," he said. "My dad was a hero."

Jayne Colin-Currie of Saybrook Township was in grade school when her father delivered turkeys to needy families at Thanksgiving for the Moms and Dads Club of St. Joseph Church.

"I noticed on several of the drop-offs that my dad gave the husbands $20 from his own pocket," she said. "When I looked at my dad, he smiled and said, 'It's good to help whenever you can.' He was my hero always."

Julius Petro of Ashtabula remembers his father's words to live by: "Never leave home without money in your pocket or with dirty underwear on."

Larry Anderson's father was commander of Orwell's American Legion Post, thus he organized a very large parade in the 1950s.

"He also had the honor of leading the parade with me as his adjutant," he said. "I was and still am so proud of him."

Jefferson native Kathy Shumate Ketron said her dad was a gentle soul who worked hard to provide for his family.

"He loved his country and proudly marched in the Color Guard at countless parades," she said. "I remember him giving young kids the spent shell casings from the 21-gun salute, a prized souvenir. He was cool and I miss him very much. He was my hero."

Kathy Rex of Jefferson recalls wanting to dance at the Town Hall, but nobody would go dancing with her.

"He knew how much I wanted that dance so he said he would do it," she said. "There was so many people there and my dad was an excellent dancer."

Katrina Ann March of Madison said when she played varsity basketball for Edgewood High School, her dad was always her biggest cheerleader.

"We were at Geneva High and the game was close," she said. "The referee made a bad call, so my dad (from the top of the bleachers) decides to start telling the ref what he thought of his bad calling — no swearing just a big man giving the ref a piece of his basketball knowledge."

All the while, March's mother was telling him, "Sit down Bill, everyone is looking!"

Then all the other parents started cheering him on.

"That's when I told my teammates on the floor, 'Don't worry, that's my dad,' and we all laughed," March said.

Jefferson resident Cassie Borsukoff Smolen and her father share a love of baseball. Every opening day for the Cleveland Indians, her father would sign her out of school early to go to the game with him.

"If you remember, Doc Edwards was the Indians manager back in the 80s," she said. "Dad's note would read, 'Cassie has to leave early due to an appointment with the Doc.'"

Baseball seems to be a recurring theme with fathers, and age doesn't seem to matter.

Even when Trevor Savel was only 18 months old, he looked up to his father, Assistant Coach Jim Savel Jr., during American Legion Neal Post 743's baseball games at Walter Higgins baseball field, Edgewood High. Trevor dressed like his dad, sat by his dad in the dugout and emulated his dad, his hero.

Paul Diemer, a Lenox Township native, said his father was a farmer — he tended crops, milked the cows, took care of all the animals, went to church on Sundays and said his prayers every night before bed.

"He lived a life anyone, including his children, would be proud to emulate, which we all did to the best of our abilities," Diemer said. "We thank God he was our father."

Lenox resident Deanna Blough said her dad was not only a good father, but he taught her to drive a tractor and his truck.

"He was always there for me," she said. "I'm sorry my kids didn't know him."

Dorset native, Robin Graham Williams, said her dad was a practical joker, a flirt with nurses and never afraid to try new things.

"He taught me to drive, to shoot and to field strip a gun," she said. "He also told me just because I was a girl, I was not a victim and could defend myself ... He was never boring. He was the best."

Patricia Rich of Ashtabula was mowing the yard one evening when she took to missing her family and thinking especially of her father.

"As I started to mow the area by the patio (dad loved to sit out there and he also loved to work in his yard), something caught my eye — it was a young buck," she said. "He dashed past me like lightening and then stopped at the edge of the little woods out back. He started to kick up his heels and then prance around. He did this repeatedly for just a few moments."

It was then that Rich realized that seeing a deer is considered a spiritual sign.

"Contemplating this for a moment, it occurred to me that my father was telling me he is OK," Rich said. "Why do I say this? Because my father had lost his left leg above the knee over 30 years ago. He suffered with phantom pains, blisters and falls; yet he never let anything stop him."

Rich believes this young buck was her father saying, "I'm ok. Look how fast I can run now and watch me dance".