Tony Jurgens

In some cases, you hear little kids claim that their hero is someone we see in comic books, you know, like Superman, Batman, or Spiderman. But my hero isn't some made up fictional character. My hero is my dad.

On November 28th, Tony Jay Jurgens was born in Watertown, South Dakota. Second born in his family, he was the first boy out of four children. At age five, he started kindergarten at Grabt Elementary School. From there, he went to the Catholic School of Immaculate Conception from first through seventh grade. After IC, my dad went to the local junior high followed by Watertown High.

When college came, he went one year to South Dakota State University then decided to finish the other three years at Southwest Minnesota State, where he earned a bachelors degree in business administration. My dad has worked in computer support, managing computer consultants, was an insurance agent for Country Insurance, and is currently still an insurance agent for Insurance Works.

As a husband and a father of two, he's very close with everyone in his family. Even with his family in South Dakota, he still talks to everyone at least once a week. As far as friends go, he says he keeps in touch with almost all of his old friends and doesn't even know the last time he's lost a friend.

Along with being a family man, he's also quite productive in his free time. Most of the things he enjoys doing has to do with being outside because he loves the outdoors. Some of these things are brewing beer with the neighbors, playing poker, attending BBQ's, and having the neighbors over to swim in the pool in the summer. His other interests are he likes to follow up on politics, and enjoys watching Nascar and NFL on TV. He used to have a motorcycle, which he had to get rid of but plans on getting another. He's not really one to just do nothing, as you can probably tell. He really likes to help and do what's best for others.

My dad's is one of those people who doesn't really believe in mistakes. That's why his motto is, "Rule number one: Don't sweat the small stuff. Rule number two: It's all small stuff." Although he says he doesn't make mistakes, he has had a few rough times in life. For one, when I was about four years old, he and my mom got a divorce. Eventually, they got back together, which made us all very happy. Even through the five years they were apart, my parents always did what was best for my sister and me. Along with that, my dad has said that the recession hasn't exactly made it easy to be an insurance agent building a new business. But, with hard work, my dad is sure things won't be too hard for long.

His one goal in life from when he was young was to have a good family, which, thankfully, he does. My dad never even fights with his brothers and sister! He's always done well in school, kept his friends, and has always helped those who needed it.

As for sports, my dad was a runner. Not just a plain old track guy; he was one of the best. But as an eighth grader on a team with seniors, I'm sure it was pretty obvious how good he was. After all, he did win the state championship four times in a row and held his title for almost fifteen years. Not to mention, he was homecoming king in 1982.

You see, my dad isn't some outrageously great person who did fabulous things. He's not a celebrity or a superhero or even extremely well-known. But he's kind, generous, good to others, smart, funny, knows how to get you to smile, and has always been there for me. I know it's cliche to say something like, "I'd never want any other dad," but it's true. I wouldn't, because I love my dad and he loves me. And for that, I admire him.