[harleyquinn]

My father, and I've told him so (which made him tear up, not something he usually does).

He's always put his family first. He's never been a "typical" dad. He was a stay at home dad before that was the trend. He'd see me and my brother off to school every morning and be there when we got home. He would take us on camping trips, such as Watkins Glen. He took us to Niagara Falls when we were little (and I now live near it). When I was eight, I wanted to be in Girl Scouts but when we went to sign up, they told us there wouldn't be a troop because they couldn't find any moms to sign up to be our scout leader in the area. As we were leaving, my dad took one look at my sad little face, said "Come with me" turned back around and told the lady if they were ok with a Dad instead of a Mom, he'd volunteer to be the leader. I was so happy, and he was the best scout leader I'd ever had. He made sure that every week we had some craft or activity to do and that we learned music, horseback riding, did voluteer work in the community and always had fun. It's twenty years later, and I still remember all of that fondly.
My dad had never finished college and was always taking jobs with long hours and low pay, but still always found time to spend with me and my brother (my mom was college educated and had a better job, which is why my Dad could stay home with us). When I went off to college, my Dad decided he'd give it a try to. Not only did he succeed, he was on the high honor roll, got a scholorship to a prestigious college here (RIT) and now has a degree in mechanical engineering.
If you couldn't tell from my long post, I love my Dad, and he's who I look up to most in the world.

To all of you that admire someone you know, take it from me, TELL THEM. They probably don't know and it would mean the world to them to know it, and sometimes it can make a big impact on their feelings about themselves.