I hear ya, and the same here, missing mine everyday. My dad would have been 100 on July 27th had he lived. That was a mile marker he really wanted to make but he passed at 98 1/2.
The Hospital ship would definitely be a cool build to remember your Dad by with every minute you work on it and when it's displayed.
My dad wasn't a model builder but he did build a few airplane kits that represented airplanes produced by Martin Marietta where he was employed for a period of time. I still have two of those that survived the years.