This Father's Day, we tapped on our community of staff to share memories or life lessons they have learned from their fathers, and we got an overwhelming response of heartwarming stories!

“When I was younger, my father used to secretly give me extra pocket money to spend when I go out with my friends. And no matter how late I used to come home, he would always wait for me under the block so that we could walk back home together. 

My father always put others before himself. You could tell that family always comes first. He sacrificed his studies to help his mother at work so that his other seven siblings could study. He taught me to love, care, and be helpful to others. He taught me unconditional love. 

Today, I try to teach my daughter the same values he has taught me.”

– Serene Teo, Administrative Executive, Robertson Walk

“As a kid, I was never really interested in science. To provoke my interest in the subject, my father would conduct fun activities and experiments at home and take me outdoors to explore and learn. He believed that I will learn best this way, and he was right. We caught caterpillars together and waited patiently for it to evolve into butterflies. The whole process was an unforgettable experience!

As I got older, I started to understand the value of many little things he has taught me. He taught me not to take things for granted, anything is possible through hard work, and that independence comes with responsibility. 

I continue to learn from him every day, and one of the biggest lessons he has taught me is that failure can lead to success.”

– Eileen Chua, Leasing Executive, Bedok Point

“Growing up at a time when Singapore was in the early stages of many changes and developments, my father worked had to work very hard to support us financially. Through his actions, I learned two important things from him: the value of love and the importance of responsibility. I also admired him for never comparing me with anyone else.

Despite being hard at work, he would take us swimming once a month. It was something we would look forward to as a family. Taking this example from my father, I used to bring my children to the park to play. Even then, it still felt like I did not spend enough time with them while they were growing up. These days, I try to be their friend and lend a listening ear when, but ultimately let them make their own decisions in life.”

– Choon Liang, Assistant Vice President, Operations, Retail

“My father grew up alongside his 11 brothers and two sisters. Coming from a big family, he had very strong family ties. His parent was always fully supportive of their children, just as I try to be to my own children now. 

My favourite memory with my dad would be the days where he would take my siblings and I to fun fairs and to drive go-karts. My father is a driver by profession, so it was always fun to learn how to drive from him. Whenever we played games at the fun fair, he would always cheer us on and was just as excited as we were to win the prizes. These were some of the experiences he never got as a child but did not want us to miss out on. And for that, I am always appreciative of how he has provided for us.” 

– Xavier Gabrial, Chief safety and security officer, Alexandra Technopark

“The greatest lesson I learned from my father is juggling responsibilities well. Coming from a modest background, he spent most part of his career performing manual labour in the construction industry. The grit and tenacity that he displayed throughout these years have been the most important qualities that I have learned from him. 

The long hours he had to spend at his work was never an excuse. He would always make an effort to be there for me and my sibling during our childhood years. This example of sacrifice by showing up day-to-day demonstrates how much he cared for us and taught me an invaluable lesson about love.       

Perhaps it is a coincidence that I ended up in the real estate industry. Being involved in a different phase of a real estate asset life cycle, this could be seen as a continuation of the work that my father has dedicated a large part of his life to. I hope I’m doing him proud!”          

– Justin Ong, Senior Leasing Executive, Northpoint City

“My favourite memory with my father was buying supper together, just the two of us for the whole family. We would ride on his motorbike and head to Pipit Road hawker centre to buy Hokkien prawn noodles, fried carrot cake and oyster with egg. On good days, we would also get durian! 

Growing up, my father taught me honesty, integrity and helpfulness. 

I was walking on the streets with my father when he saw a lady drop her money on the floor. He picked up the $50 dollar note and returned it to her, despite her not realising the money was missing.”

– Michelle Neo, Administrative Officer, Projects

These stories are just a glimpse of how fathers lead by example and how they impart wisdom on their children to get through life the best way they know how. Fathers comfort us when are down or scared, and sometimes they give us gifts when we least expect it. Most of all, they give us memories — heartwarming ones that stick in our hearts, even if they are no longer with us.

We hope this has inspired you to hug your fathers a little tighter today and thank them for raising you to be the person that you are today!