Which 5 people in your life had the biggest impact in making you the person you are today? 

1. Mom
2. Grandpa (mom's dad)
3. Grandma (mom's mom)
4. Father (negative impact, but definitely played a role in who I am)

I'm having trouble deciding on my 5th.

Feel free to expand on why they made such a big impact. 

1. My mentor in the Navy. He still influences me to this day, even after we both have retired

2. My high school choir director. I had never seen a teacher reach students the way he did.  I92 may know him (his last teaching position before he died was at Jackson)

3 and 4. My brothers. I learned so much from watching them as I grew up. I learned how to succeed and fail through watching them. 

5. My wife. She definitely straightened my ass up when we got married more that 20 years ago. 

1. Dad

2. Mom

3. Grandpa (dad side)

4. First Boss

5. High school football coach 

posted by brutus161

.....

5. My wife. She definitely straightened my ass up when we got married more that 20 years ago. 

Great to see that!

Without even trying, my wife (39 years) is/has been a positive and calming influence on all of us. Lol, we call her "Switzerland".

1. Wife - I'd never be where I am today without her.
2. Daughter - Too many reasons to list
3. Dad - Mostly good stuff, but I realize as I'm older how much he's influenced my thinking
4. Mother - Also mostly good, very loving, source of some of my personality flaws though.
5. Grandfather - Showed me through example that giving up the booze is possible for someone like me.

posted by brutus161

1. My mentor in the Navy. He still influences me to this day, even after we both have retired

2. My high school choir director. I had never seen a teacher reach students the way he did.  I92 may know him (his last teaching position before he died was at Jackson)

3 and 4. My brothers. I learned so much from watching them as I grew up. I learned how to succeed and fail through watching them. 

5. My wife. She definitely straightened my ass up when we got married more that 20 years ago. 

What was his name?

Jesus Christ

Dad

Mom

Paternal grandpa

Wife (negatively... but I have grown into who I am because of our divorce)

posted by ernest_t_bass

Jesus Christ

Dad

Mom

Paternal grandpa

Wife (negatively... but I have grown into who I am because of our divorce)

Didn’t realIze you got a divorce. sorry to hear that. 

posted by kizer permanente

Didn’t realIze you got a divorce. sorry to hear that. 

It's not final.  But she will never come back.  

posted by Ironman92

What was his name?

Chris Bullion

posted by brutus161

Chris Bullion

I remember the name but didn’t know him…I think he was here after my sister but before my daughter.

posted by Ironman92

I remember the name but didn’t know him…I think he was here after my sister but before my daughter.

He died in 2010

1. Dad
2. Wife
3. Mom
4. Grade School Teacher
5. High School Basketball Coach

posted by ernest_t_bass

Jesus Christ

Dad

Mom

Paternal grandpa

Wife (negatively... but I have grown into who I am because of our divorce)

You got divorced?  Man's best friend indeed....

posted by SnotBubbles

You got divorced?  Man's best friend indeed....

Yeah, thanks for being a friend through it all, jerk.

posted by ernest_t_bass

Yeah, thanks for being a friend through it all, jerk.

Pfft.  Where were you when I got fat and needed a friend to help me not get fat?

1. Dad
2. Mom

3.Grandpa

4.Grandma

I hit the jackpot with parents and grandparents on my Mom's side. All four were very supportive of me growing up. My dad passed away when I was 22 so he never got to see the full man that I became but he laid a good foundation and I know he would be proud of how I turned out.

5. (Tie) - Mr.Jerry Hatcher & Mr. Paul Gallagher
Mr. Hatcher was my 9th grade basketball coach and Mr. Gallagher was my 9th grade principal and high school prinical my junior and senior year. My junior high school was shut down after our 8th grade year and we were sent to another school for our 9th grade year. They both did everything to make us feel welcome and shaped my thoughts on how to succeed and how to treat people.

posted by SnotBubbles

Pfft.  Where were you when I got fat and needed a friend to help me not get fat?

Probably drinking like crazy and getting fat myself.

1. Mom

2. Dad

That about sums it up.

Wife

Mom

Dad

Maternal grandpa

HS cross/track coach and chem teacher

Random HS substitute teacher who told me that I was too smart for the career path I had planned

1. Dad

2. Grandma (Dad’s mom)

3. Grandma (Mom’s mom)

4. Grandpa (Mom’s dad) Negatively

5. Mom

Mom and Dad married at 15 and 17 and made it until I got through college. Dad worked insane hours as a grocery story manager and flat out never missed anything I did, never complained and just kept pushing forward. I strive to be him in so many ways.

My grandma was in same house as me from 0-3 and 20-23. She started me in church at age 4 and she worked everyday at a pharmacy until age 75. At age 7 she asked if I would sign a paper saying I’d never smoke…..at age 42 for me she pulled this paper out and showed me she kept it, and I’ve never taken a single puff of one and never will.

My mom’s mom raised 4 young daughters and her unkind husband left her when my mom was 12 (the oldest)….grandma worked in a factory and got cancer at age 60 and I took care of her in her final months of life. She held that entire side of the family together. Never a complaint ever and few people had more to complain about.

My mom’s dad…..stud athlete that turned down a Tigers contract in 1957 as he had twins on the way….had 2 other kids and was a semi pro golfer and held the most holes walked in a day record for over a decade. Left grandma and four daughters and messed up all4 daughters and I can easily argue every one of their daughter’s (8 women in total)….to this day I have a soft place in my heart for troubled women and girls that don’t have a father figure in their life.

My mom….she’s had a rough life as pregnant at 15, witnessed her youngest sister being murdered in Pickerington, twin sister tragically passed away 7 years ago and dad the abusive alcoholic. Mom has had to fight a lot of demons and a couple stints in the mental facility but she’s winning the game of life right now.

Note: Up until I began elementary school I had 5 grandmas, 4 grandpas and a step grandma….so most of my grandparents had a big part in me being who I am.