It’s Father’s Day weekend, a time to reflect on the influence a dad has in one’s life. And for dads, a time to appreciate their legacies.

Steve Disney, executive director of the Bradford water and sanitary authorities, said his father, Fred Disney, passed away earlier this year, and the loss was incredibly difficult.

“My dad was my superhero for sure,” Disney said. “He was bigger than life to me, there’s nothing he couldn’t do. I went to him for advice on everything.

“He sacrificed everything for his family. His influence shaped my life and continues to shape the lives of our family in so many ways,” he continued. “His love, kindness and compassion were remarkable. I never saw him get upset or angry.”

His father was always filled with joy, and always worked hard.

“He instilled a great work ethic in me,” Disney said. He added that his father was a devout man, and was a “great prayer warrior.

“In my opinion the most important aspect of my dad’s life was his faith in Jesus and his legacy,” Disney said. “Because of his life and his character, his legacy lives on and on in his children, grandchildren, and generations to come.”

He added, “My prayer would be that we never let his spirit die, and that we continually strive to be exactly the person he was.”

Learning how to approach life is an important lesson imparted by fathers.

McKean County President Judge John Pavlock said, “My father is the hardest worker that I know. He worked at the paper mill in Johnsonburg, had a roofing business, cut and sold firewood and cut trees down for folks, grew and sold Christmas trees, picked ground pine and sold it when I was young, painted houses and did many, many other jobs to support our family. He just kept going and going.

“You don’t appreciate that as much when you are younger, but the older you get the more you realize how hard that is to keep going and to work so hard,” Pavlock said. “You also realize that is not how everyone approaches life, that not every parent works tirelessly to provide their children with opportunities that they didn’t have.”

Hard work and self-sufficiency, and using the resources available to you, are keys to success.

“I could say that I want my kids to learn that same lesson from me, to work hard and use the talents, abilities and opportunities that they have to their fullest, but I don’t need to,” Pavlock said. “They are early in their journeys, but have already shown me and their mother that they are going to use their talents and work hard.”

He’s hopeful that his sons know how proud their parents are of them, and to “keep pursuing their goals, to work hard but to also take time for themselves and family, and recognize that the path you thought you wanted to follow might get obstructed, but there are always four or five other good paths right beside the path you thought you would be on that can take you where you need to go.”

Pride, love and happiness are common themes for fathers reflecting on their children.

Congressman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., said, “Being a father, and now a grandfather, has been the blessing of a lifetime. Watching my three sons grow into fine young men has brought me more joy than one man deserves. I am immeasurably proud of all of them and grateful to have been on this journey through parenthood with my wife, Penny. Today I’m wishing all the dads out there a very Happy Father’s Day!”

Credit for creating Father’s Day is given to Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Wash., whose father, a Civil War veteran, raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth. She is said to have had the idea in 1909 while listening to a sermon on Mother’s Day, which at the time was becoming established as a holiday. Local religious leaders supported the idea, and the first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, the month of the birthday of Dodd’s father. It became a national holiday in 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed legislation designating the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day.

More than 87 million cards are sent each year on Father’s Day, making it the fourth most popular day for sending cards and video messages.