He was the man who "helped shape" who Simon Ip is today, someone who would sneak from southern China into Hong Kong to provide for his family.
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Someone who, along with Ip's mother, brought his family to Australia for a better life.
So when Stanley Ip died in 2020, his son was faced with the greatest challenge of his life: soldiering on without his father's love and support.
"I think he was very selfless; he always looked after his family first," Ip said.
"He never spent any money or anything on himself ... he'd always look after us before himself."
When Ip was a young child, his father and mother migrated to Australia. The family briefly settled in Sydney before relocating to Tamworth.
Ip's parents soon separated, with the Oxley High alum staying in Tamworth with his dad.
Stanley, or Lin Ching, worked a various Chinese restaurants in Tamworth before becoming co-owner of the Chinese restaurant at the Kootingal Bowling Club.
Ip said his dad was "a big part" of his life, adding: "I'd like to think that he helped shape the person that I am."
That person is someone who has been a valued Coles employee since he began working for the retail giant at high school. He is now the store support manager of Coles Northgate.
And that person is someone who has long been entrusted with Hillvue Rovers' captaincy, and will lead the club into the 2024 Premier League season.
We're aiming to try and get into the finals [this season].
"We've got a bit of optimism going into the year," Ip said, adding that "a lot of people probably would've wrote us off last year".
"We're aiming to try and get into the finals [this season]," he said.
The 35-year-old, who is single, had envisaged a different life for himself. He had studied sports management at Griffith University on the Gold Coast.
"I did it for a year," he said of the degree. "And I thought, I need to make more money.
"So I took a gap year a bit later than most people. And then they [Coles] kept giving me different roles and roped me up."
That's been good for Coles, for Ip, and for Rovers.