Sunday, June 16, will be Father’s Day, and for William ‘Tony’ Wilson, it will be a bittersweet day as he reflects on the loss of his daughter Tanisha.
He still remembers her passing as though it happened yesterday. While he is counting his blessings, since he still has four children—two boys and two girls—who are the apples of his eye, he wonders what it would have been like for her to be in the mix.
“I feel cheated; we have been through so much, and then just as we were at the stage where we were enjoying a father-daughter relationship, she was suddenly taken out of my life,” he shared with Freedom Come Rain.
Grappling for words, Tony said, just reliving that time in his life, and with Father’s Day just around the corner, it is hard for him not to tear up as a flood of memories come washing in.
While he will be celebrating the bond with his children, whom he thanks God for every day, there will be a poignant reminder of the loss, love, and fragility of life.
Tony and Tanisha’s relationship had been strained for many years because of the lack of information regarding how much he truly loved and cared for her. A wedge was driven between them and the ensuing estrangement was a heavy burden, an ever-present shadow that clouded his heart.
Despite the distance between them, Tony never stopped loving his daughter. He kept hope alive in his heart, believing that one day they could bridge the gap and enjoy a father-daughter bond. That day
came, and what a joy it was for him.
The two began the slow process of rebuilding their relationship, one conversation at a time. They shared stories, laughter, and tears, making up for lost time and creating new, precious memories.
If there were any clouds on the horizon in their relationship, it was the bouts of seizures that she had to deal with; this weakened her, and for Tony, he would have given anything to make it go away.
Just as he felt he was finally on the brink of enjoying a rich and fulfilling relationship with her, life dealt a cruel blow.
He will never forget the day when he got the call that Tanisha was in the hospital.
“That fateful morning was June 27, 2021, in COVID time, at 4 a.m. The phone rang; I swear to God it was the police or one of my tenants calling,” he informed, pointing out that the call was to inform him that his daughter had a seizure, which resulted in her haemorrhaging as she was pregnant.
“I didn’t know at the time that she was pregnant, and getting the news that she didn’t make it felt like a double loss. The grandchild I didn’t get to meet and my daughter,” he said.
The biggest loss for him is that he never got the chance to say goodbye. Instead, he must relive their last conversation, where they chatted a lot of ‘crap,” just joking around and bantering, making plans to link up.
This Father’s Day, as he embraces the ever-present pain of her loss, he is cognizant of the fact that there is also something to treasure—the time he spent with her, creating a bond that death can never sever.
He still remembers her laughter, her wisdom, and the way she looked at him with love. These memories became a source of comfort, a way to keep her spirit alive within him.
In the midst of his sadness, he found a reason to smile as he recalled 1995 when she was just three years old and he took her to watch ‘Pocahontas,’ an animated movie. He still recalls with amusement how she wasn’t into it, but he admitted he used her as an excuse to go as he really wanted to watch the movie himself.
Still chuckling, he shared, “I’m sure majority of the adults who came out that day were doing the same thing I was cause the young babies, what could they watch?”
For Tony, Father’s Day is a testament to the enduring power of a father’s love—a love that, despite the pain of loss, remains unbroken and eternal.
