We’re celebrating Father’s Day with a special tribute from single daughters to their fathers. Here’s what you had to say about how your father’s advice shaped your life…

My father taught me the importance of valuing myself as a woman. He did this in the way he treated all of his children, but mostly, in the manner in how he treated my mother. 

He valued her, cherished her, admired her, adored her…and he wasn’t afraid to show his affection towards her in view of anyone. That woman was certainly loved! Judith Brown

The single most important thing my father taught me is that there is no glass ceiling. Growing up, he didn’t say it in those words, but he instilled a quiet confidence that I could do or be anything. Every week he would clip articles for me to read…woman succeeding, women in business, women leading. By the time I reached high school, I had no limit. Following college I rose to VP of Sales and Marketing for a Fortune 500 company. When I launched my own company, my dad clipped articles on being an entrepreneur. I am now 45 and Dad stil sends articles that inspire and excite me to reach higher. Glass ceiling? What ceiling? Julie Murray

My Dad left before I was one. In my mid-twenties I jumped on a Greyhound bus and searched him out. I found him and stayed about a week.

While saying goodbye at the bus station, he gave me a hug and wouldn’t let me go… I held onto him too. We cried together.

With that hug, my dad healed every broken part of me.

Great topic! 

Becky Due

I was lucky, my father lived to be 94 years old. I swear he waited for the Red Sox to win the World Series and then he passed away. His first job was setting up bowling pins. He taught me many great things, but the best is: To always have a sense of humor. His stories still keep me smiling and someday, I’ll write a book about him, George Laurence Spurr, but everyone called him Larry. Janet Spurr

Apologize for mistakes but never apologize for who you are. Megan R. Smith

My father is a survivor of the Holocaust. He lost his brothers, sisters, mother, cousins, home and his entire life as he knew it. He endured brutality, starvation and deprivation beyond anything one could imagine. 

Growing up with a father who had endured so much brought with it its own set of special challenges.  But the most important lesson I learned from my father is not to give up. I pushed myself through school, a career, marriage, divorce and single motherhood. And my father taught me that no failure is so terrible and I can always get it right the next time – because I am lucky enough to have a next time. Renee Young

My father came from a generation of men who didn’t express their feelings. After he passed away, I realized that loving another person is not just an emotion; it’s a behavior, a series of acts that demonstrate love. My father showed his love in the ways he knew best; by providing for me and keeping me safe. It was as simple as that.  Judith Marshall

My father and I never shared DNA, but we did share a bond that would never break. He passed unexpectedly four years a go. One of his best pieces of advice was, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know…so be nice to everyone”.  Nancy Schuster

When I was about 15, I was lamenting that my scholarship, while admirable, did not measure up to my older sister’s. My father said, “You don’t need to compare yourself to your sister. You have talents she could never dream of having.” And I have always remembered that. There’s no point in comparing anyone to anyone. We all have our gifts, and while there may always be someone who’s better than you at something, you will also be better at something than he/she. Thank you, Daddy! Susan K. Morrow

My father was negotiator – he sat on the non-union side of the table, facing off against, primarily, teachers’ unions. He was excellent at what he did – hard, firm, and unwilling to compromise his client’s position. Yet as fierce as he was at the negotiating table was as gentle and pleasant as he was away from the table. Once the work was done, he would buy drinks, take his ‘opponents’ to dinner, engage in pleasant conversation. Dad taught me that you could separate the issues from the people, and that being gregarious could be an asset in business negotiations. Kimberley Debus

My father died when I was 25. He was retired army and civil service. He was a gem when he was sober, but nuts when he was drunk. Be self sufficient. He taught my sister and I how to change the oil, change a flat, and other simple diagnosis of a car. Be able to take care of yourself first.  Marion Marshall

My grandfather raised me from birth and was very much my “father”–so much so that everyone referred to him as “your daddy”.  He taught me so many amazing things but the most important, I think, was to be a good human being, and that lesson was reflected in everything he said. 
Brenda Della Casa

My father taught me to imagine. On summer nights, we would go out and sit on the front porch to water the grass with the hose. He’d look into the stars and talk about eternity; how, if an eagle every thousand years touched a golden ball as big as the sun with the tip of his wing, when the ball finally wore away was only the very beginning of eternity. Later, he would come upstairs and make up a scary story, complete with sound effects of creeking doors, cold wind, howling wolves. Thanks, Dad.

Terri Willyard

My father taught me many things, but I guess his single, most important lesson was to never let others define who I am, what I can do, or how I should feel.   My closest friends tell me that my father raised me to be a man.  Deborah Lake

I lost my dad this year, a day after my birthday. He was a wise man, full of aphorisms. I live by this one every day of my life.  ”It is better to regret something you did do than something you didn’t do.” At 46, I have no regrets. I have done everything I ever wanted to do, waiting excitedly for the next one. Not everything has been in my best interest, but I grew from every single something I did do. Lori Leigh Moreland

Diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friends, power tools are.  I was born in the 1950s when girls weren’t typically encouraged to learn and master “guy stuff” like home maintenance and improvement. Yet my dad taught me all the same things that he taught my brother, like how to use power tools. When I was going through a divorce from my first husband, my father didn’t cuddle me or say “awwwwww”.  He hopped in the car and drove ten hours to stay with me and finish all of the household projects that had to be done. Power tools rule! Pattie Roberts