My Parents

Thank you all for your kind words!! My Dad and I were quite close, and the 9 days since his passing have been the hardest days of my life.

I made Mom dinner last night and we sat and talked about Dad, some great conversation, hugs, and tears.

Seeing him get increasingly frail over the last 7 years, and especially the last 6 months gives me some comfort that he is out of his suffering now. A car accident in 2001 aggravated an already arthritic spine, something that did not bother him much before the accident, but became increasingly painful afterwards. He was an avid golfer, but legs that would go numb and give way forced him to give the game up in 2006. My siblings and I feared that giving up his 2nd love, golf would hasten his demise, but he lived over 7 years afterwards, with a great attitude.

He broke his hip in a fall in March of last year, had surgery, and worked his *** off to get out of the rehab center..took him 6 weeks. Many 87 yr olds, that would've been a death sentence, broken hip. He had a couple of bouts with congestive heart failure last year, also, facilitating time in the hospital and managed care, but came home each time. He got increasingly weaker as this year went on. I would go over to his place a couple of times a week to help him shower, then dress him. Wednesday night(25th sept) he was weak and tired. I feared he would leave us soon, but not this soon, He went, with Mom, onto the porch the next day, sat down in his chair, and left us peacefully. Oh, he 'lived' another 9 hours, with help of drugs and a respirator, but knowing there was no hope, and that he did not want to live 'hooked up', the breathing tube and iv were pulled at 1230am the 27th. At 1:10 his heart stopped.

He had a good life, 88 years 8 months. And still, even in dire pain and weakness, would sing to Mom every morning, many times Hank WIlliams' "Hey, Good Looking".

He is sorely missed, but I know I will see him again on the other side.

FF