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When the term Godfather is used, most equate the title with a mob figure because of the popular iconic 1972 movie “The Godfather.”  However the term has a much deeper connotation.   In many cultures, those who take this title are taking the serious role of mentorship, and even stepping in to raise a child in the event of the death of the parents.  Even in the movie,  Don Corleone was noted for taken in a homeless child who one of his sons brought home raising the boy as one of his own and sending him to law school.

Being raised in a single parent home,  I was fortunate to have many Godfathers.  However, the man who taught me the importance of this role was my biological father.  Once, when I went to visit him in Pittsburgh, he took me to a house and said “son it’s time to meet your older sister.”  We walked in and she greeted him as her father and hugged me saying that she was glad to finally meet me.  She was married with kids who were very excited to see their Grandpa.  We ate a wonderful dinner that my sister prepared for us while we got aquatinted.

“I thought I was your firstborn?”  I asked after we left.  My father looked perplexed and replied “you are”.    When I said “you just introduced me to my older sister” he burst into a big smile and said “she is not your biological sister son”.  My father went on to explain to me that anyone can physically create child,  but raising one as a real father was entirely a different task.   When I asked him why he did not say she was my play sister, he went on to explain that there was no such thing as a play sister.  As far as he was concerned, Madelyn was his daughter just as much as his biological daughters and she was not just a part of our family, she was family.  He told me that he expected me to do the same for someone when I become a man.

Years later, I went to be at my father’s side as he laid on his death bed waiting to go be with The Supreme Father.  Madelyn was there and her oldest son was holding our Father’s hand.  When Dad flatlined, he fell to his knees kissing his Grandfather’s hand sobbing uncontrollably.  It was a moment that will forever stay etched in my mind.  At that moment I recalled what my Father said about raising children as your own if needed.

Many more years later, I went to visit my sister Madelyn and she told me the story of how our Father took her in and looked after her as his own.  He made sure she finished school and also got her enlisted into the Navy.  She told me that our Father was the only Father she ever had and why he was such a great human being.  She then gave me his dress military uniform that she held onto for years and said that he would have wanted me to have it.

As a result, I now have many godchildren and some of them now work for me at the Sheriff’s Office protecting our county.  

As I congratulate our Clayton County Fathers who are doing an excellent job of raising their children, I encourage them to also consider taking on a child that has no Father and raise them as their own.   Our community will be a better and safer place, because all of us need a Father.

Happy Father’s Day 

Sheriff Victor Hill

"An army of chickens led by an eagle will always defeat an army of eagles led by a chicken."