Wethersfield Dad Is 'A Saint On Earth,' Daughter Says

WETHERSFIELD, CT— Father's Day is the perfect time to give a big thanks to all the dads who put smiles on our faces. Wethersfield, meet Matthew Budaj.

If you know a dad who sends sweet, silly or thoughtful texts your way, you’re pretty lucky. Texts from Dad have a way of putting a smile on our faces — and this Father’s Day, we’re celebrating the fathers behind the phones!

Patch has partnered with T-Mobile to shine a light on awesome dads and the funny, insightful things they say. This submission comes from Danielle Budaj who nominated Matthew Budaj of Wethersfield.

What makes your dad extra special?

My dad is beyond special. His heart is huge. He has lived in Wethersfield, CT almost his entire life, despite a brief hiatus, he moved back to his home town. He is a Navy veteran of the Cold War. My dad has four children, my sister and I, his firsts, are grown and approaching our thirties. My little brothers are just starting college, and junior high in the fall. His current job is doing all sorts of handy work in and around the area. But mostly, he works with the elderly. People who absolutely could not get these things done without him. Over the years, he’s done everything from odd jobs around the house, landscape work in the yards, cleaning and laundry, grocery shopping, snow shoveling and more. On top of still working more than full time, he spends his time outside work with his family. Every single day, he takes my youngest brother fishing, memories he will be able to have of his dad forever. Three years ago, his mother passed away. Prior to her passing, she had some severe memory deficiencies and my dad took care of her around the clock. My grandfather had passed years before and she was all alone. My dad went there every day, and towards the final years three times a day. For the last few years of her life, she spent every single weekend at her lake house in New Hampshire with my father and brother. He was always patient with her. And I was around a lot, I know how frustrating and irritating her condition was. But my dad never lost his temper, always kept his patience and treated her with the most compassion I’ve ever seen in my life. A love of sports has run in my family forever so he also coaches my brother's soccer team and he is a great coach. The kids adore him and the parents all know how much heart he gives them. He loves nutrition and wellness and listens to YouTube videos every day about those topics. He and my brother still spend much of their weekends in the summer at my grandmother's lake house. He’s spent his whole life taking care of others. Seriously, if a saint lived on Earth, it’s my dad.

Why do you feel your dad deserves the spotlight?

I feel like my dad deserves the spotlight because of his efforts to help others. I understand he gets paid for his job but his clients love him. Especially the elderly clients he works with, some of them have no one else and my dad is always and has always been there for them. I’ve never seen someone with so much patience for the elderly community.

Happy Father’s Day to Matthew Budaj, and thank you for all you do!

This content is brought to our community in partnership with T-Mobile.

Know an amazing dad who sends great texts? Nominate him here by June 15.