The lessons we learn from them live on in our actions and I am glad of that. My dad was less of a thinker but still taught us much about standing up for ourselves and even better, similar to yours choosing to let events dictate our actions. I still think of the old codger every day with his wry smile and cynical but happy view of the world
They live in us and have helped shape our lives, especially early on. It makes sense that we perpetuate those lessons and pay them forward to others. They grew up in different times as will your kids but the basics are the same and I'm sure you're passing that down the line.
Yeah man, it's the basics that underpin everything. It's all built on the foundations and you just hope that you are building them right. As our old dad's did :0)
If a person does the basics well, more often than not, then they're on the right track indeed.