A great example to follow

I dedicate the first column of 2005 to a man who has been my mentor, friend, teacher and disciplinarian.
That man is my father, Ernest A. Brown Sr. He died at 8:05 a.m. Dec. 30, so I begin the first year of my life without him.
He was a survivor of 39 years working in the steel mill at Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co. He was muscular and strong.
Diabetes tooka toll on him
But diabetes, over time, can take down even the strongest of men.
My dad, 78, entered St. Elizabeth Health Center in mid-October, and received care there and at Select Specialty Hospital. He died at Boardman Community Care Center.
His physical ordeal began when he fell at his Campbell home. He broke the femur bones in both legs. He had successful surgery to have rods inserted to help the healing process.
Shortly thereafter, however, doctors noticed there was little or no blood flow to his right leg. My father already had had his left leg amputated below the knee, so the doctors tried to do all they could to prevent amputating his right leg.
It was not to be.
While recovering from the amputation, my dad began to experience breathing problems, and medical staff continued having trouble regulating my dad's blood sugar.
Doctors knew the diabetes was having a debilitating effect on him, but they were perplexed as to what was causing his breathing troubles. They ruled out Lou Gehrig's disease and other physical threats.
They determined that my dad had two options: He could wear a breathing mask or have a tracheotomy performed, and he would be hooked up to a ventilator.
My dad said the breathing mask was too uncomfortable, so he opted for the ventilator.
He never complainedabout anything
Throughout these medical procedures, I never heard my dad complain. But that was consistent with his demeanor. I never heard him complain about anything.
He taught me, my brother and sister that little is accomplished by complaining. He always believed that if something was truly beyond your capabilities, complaining would not change it. If you have an opportunity to change your lot in life, and fail to do so, however, you have no one to blame but yourself.
That's pretty sound wisdom that our young generation today should apply.
My dad never graduated from East High School. He dropped out in the 11th grade to enlist in the Navy during World War II. But he was blessed with a large quantity of common sense and street smarts. I'm going to share with you a few:
U Never hit a woman. "You have never seen me hit your mother," my dad told my brother and me, "So I don't ever want it said my sons go around beating women. A man who hits a woman is not a man."
U Hard work never hurt anyone.
U Do what it takes to get the job done right.
U Judge people for how they treat you, and always treat everyone you meet with respect.
U There comes a time in your life where you must be held accountable for the things you do or don't do.
He set the examplefor us to live by
My dad didn't just give lip service to these principles. He lived them daily.
Did he discipline us when we crossed the line? Absolutely. Back in the 1950 and 1960s, at least in my neighborhood, parents used belts, razor straps, a tree switch, or anything else they could find to mete out a beating. I didn't like those beatings, so I learned to straighten up and fly right.
I pitched one inning of high school baseball at East High. It was a relief appearance against Boardman High School in Boardman Township Park. My dad, who had just finished his daytime shift at the mill, was there to see it.
I also was blessed to have him attend my high school and college graduations, my marriage and my promotion at this newspaper.
My father is at peace now. I ask that the prayers given for my dad will be passed on to my mother, Margie, who has lost the love of her life. My parents were married for 53 years.
So I have renewed my goals for living on this side of heaven. They are to serve God and try to be as good a father to my son and daughter as my dad always was to me.
ebrown@vindy.com