Sorry about your loss. Your father sounds like he was a great person! Treasure that you got to be there when he passed. Make sure you tell these wonderful stories to your children to keep his memory alive.
I know how difficult it is, as I lost my mom when I was only 14, and I was not there. I still miss her, but I keep memories of her, including her portrait, on my dresser. My mother was a private pilot, a "99", and ran the Kachina Doll Air Rally for several years in PHX. She was diagnosed with cancer in 1975 that had grown to a large tumor in her face. The radiation caused her to lose sight in her right eye.
She kept her medical and flew close to the end of her life. In fact, her crowning achievement was winning the Kachina Doll Air Rally - blind in one eye. She was a fighter, and that is the memory I take with me, and tell my children.
Thanks for sharing with us and may he rest in peace.
Kathy