Father’s Day Tribute
A Tribute To My Dad On Father’s Day By Zander Keig, MSW, LCSW
I have spent every Father’s Day with my dad since I was a child, but this will be my first Father’s Day without him. My dad, Ricardo Alberto Hermelin, was born in Mexico in 1941. He was a single parent when fathers were rarely given sole custody of their children (1960s). After serving as a Marine, my father worked as an electrical engineer for aerospace defense contractors. We lived in California and enjoyed easy and ample access to local beaches where we often swam, ran, biked, played frisbee, and dined at local eateries, including our favorite pancake house.
Growing up with a Mexican Marine dad could have made for a strict and stern household, but it was often the opposite. My dad was relatively permissive, didn’t enforce a curfew, and was often out of town for work and left me home alone starting around age 13. As a result, I learned to be both self-reliant and incorrigible, frequently engaging in mischief, which included being truant often, dabbling with shoplifting, and consuming alcohol. My dad was aware of my delinquency but did not react strongly to it. My teen years were a struggle for both of us.
Thankfully, I sorted myself out in my twenties and re-established a connection with my dad that took on a different tone. In the 1980s, I served in the Coast Guard, and my dad left engineering to become a sports massage therapist. He spent 27 years doing massage professionally.
My dad was also a lifelong runner, completing 100 marathons, 100 half marathons, 100 10k races, several ultra-marathons, and one Iron Man race. At 70, he decided to stop running to save his knees and took up riding an ElliptiGO, which a massage client had told him about. He went on to become a legend within the ElliptiGO community for the number of miles he rode in one year (40,000), crossing the USA in 100 days unaccompanied, being drafted into the ElliptiGO Century Club, being Rider of the Month twice, and earning the first ElliptiGO Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.
To say my dad was a remarkable man is an understatement. He passed along to me great wisdom and insight that has benefited me immensely personally and influenced the work that I now do, leading corporate psychoeducation webinars on emotional intelligence, mental fitness, and overall well-being. And I recently published a book!
His passing in February 2024, after five years with a dementia diagnosis, is a significant loss for me. I will honor him this Father’s Day and every year after that as a tribute. Happy Father’s Day, dad!
