My Dad, 6-20-1932 to 3-10-2006

Dad passed away, peacefuly and quietly around 7:00 this evening, at home with his wife, children and grandchild around him. I was just coming in from working in Dad's shed when Mom called, saying she thought Dad wasn't breathing. Even though it came as no surprise...I really hadn't expected him to survive the weekend...it still hurt like hell.

He had become a shell of the man he was. He lost at least 35 pounds through the course of his illness (which began last April) but really wasted away in the past week. He must be a full 50 pounds lighter than he was a year ago. By today, his arms literally felt like skin and bone. Cancer is such an ugly disease. Tomorrow, we'll order flowers and make the final funeral arrangements. Tonight, I think we will all sleep soundly, not having to worry about what the morning might bring.

My thanks to any who took the journey with me the past couple of weeks. If you'd like to know a little more about my Dad, I started down this path on an MSN Space I started a few months ago. I haven't kept up with it much since I discovered Blogger but there are family pictures there and more info on my Dad. The man you see in the pictures is Dad as I will always remember him.

Thanks for listening.