Tina Fey paid tribute to her late father Donald H. Fey, who passed away Oct. 18, in two emotional, yet funny obituaries that were published in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.
"He was a great dad and a talented artist and writer," she explained. "But I also think of him as a Great American — he served his country in Korea, he served his city as a fireman, he regularly took his kids to art museums and historical sites."
The "Saturday Night Live" alum's father was a former Philadelphia firefighter, a lecturer at local Philadelphia colleges on the art of fundraising writing and a devoted family man. He had a "voracious quest for knowledge," according to Fey, and was incredibly creative.
"I remember once when he wrote a crime novel. After he finished it, I asked him if he was going to write another one. He said, 'No, I'm painting now,'" said Fey.
She shared a number of touching stories about growing up with her father and described the sort of man he was.
"When he taught me how to play baseball, he would say to me, 'If you throw like a girl again, we're going in.' (I took it in the spirit it was intended.)," she said of her late father. "He read poetry and history and newspapers. He was an informed patriot. The Republican Party should have tried to clone him."
Fey dedicated an entire chapter of her 2011 memoir "Bossypants" to her dad called "That's Don Fey," according to the New York Daily News. In the book, the comedian wrote about how her father earned respect from the intimidating and powerful men in her life.
"The first time Lorne Michaels met my dad, he said afterward, 'Your father is... impressive,'" wrote Fey. "Alec Baldwin took a long look at him and gave him a firm handshake."
