+ Dad +

How long, O Lord? We got our answer. 2:17 am, Monday morning, August 12. That is when my father fell asleep in Jesus. My wife and I and my sister were able to be with him his last few hours here. It was rough. It seems so long ago already. Yet the sadness is still fresh. We read Scripture and hymns those last couple of hours. I tried to sing, but couldn't. We commended him into the hands of his Saviour. The same hands that baptized him when he was just over a month old, now came to take him home when he was 95 years old. Rejoice! Cry. Smile. Remember. Lots of remembering.

When my Mom died we still had Dad. Now that Dad has died it is a new time in life. One that will take some getting used to.

The Memory Care where my Dad lived the last three years is a place called Sunrise. They have lots of buildings here in Virginia. The aides were very good with him, and many of them came in and wept with us. They really cared for him. That's what we liked about the place. Many of them became like a second family to him and to us.

After my father's passing came the waiting with him and caring for his body. My dear wife at my side the whole time. What would I do without her? When morning broke (pictures below) a Hospice Nurse came and did her necessary work. Then a funeral home came to take his body. He will be transported to Pennsylvania where he was born and raised and spent most of his life. We'll have a service at his church, St. Mark's in Ridley Park, where we grew up and where he is still officially a member (over 50 years!), and then he'll lie beside my Mom awaiting the glorious resurrection on the Last Day.

Yesterday we also tended to some necessaries - while waiting for the men to come and take the hospital supplies that had been rented for him, we started cleaning out his room. Again, rejoicing, crying, smiling, remembering, crying with the afternoon shift of aides coming in . . . It was a really long day.

Today it is up to Pennsylvania to meet with the funeral home. My Dad had most of the details pre-planned, but still a few things to do and papers to sign. Then to the church to meet with the Pastor there. My brother and I (I believe) will conduct the funeral for him. We didn't want to with my Mom, but both of us wanted to with my Dad. Interesting. And then back home. So another long day today.

Finally, some pictures for you. First, the final sunrise at Sunrise, looking out his window there, as we await the Son to arise, return, and raise all the faithful to life with Him.

And a few of my Dad at Sunrise:

Seeing his granddaughter off to college. He really, really loved his grandkids!

Meeting his great-grandchild Elijah (from Florida) at his 92nd birthday party. He would up with six grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. So as we would tell him, that makes him pretty great!

All together for Father's Day.

Petting Danny Boy, the Memory Care cat. Sadly, Danny moved out the last year my father was there. He really liked Danny. One day he said: "All my life I've been a dog person, and here I went and got myself a cat!"  :-)

With his daughter. She had a special place in his heart. His pet name for her was "Suze." Not sure why, it just was.

Getting together for communion. Had more than a few times at his kitchen table there, along with his devotions every day.

My wife and I would often take turns visiting Dad, to make sure he got a visit nearly every day. But sometimes we got to go together, too, and "double team" him!

Birthday boy! This was his 94th, I believe.

Father's Day pizza. He loved his pizza! Pepperoni, always.

His last Christmas with us. He didn't really "get" unwrapping and receiving his gifts this year, but the present he LOVED was his two granddaughters playing Christmas hymns on their violins for him and singing along. We sang a lot that special day.

I love this picture of him. How I will remember him. Making me cry even now . . .