He was almost 91. It was quite a blessing the way things went down. He went into the hospital on Saturday, but didn't show any signs of death being imminent until yesterday. The kids got to do Halloween. Last year, we had a big 90th birthday party for him, and then in June he got to go to southern Virginia to a family reunion, where he saw his Brothers and sister, nieces and nephews.
All of the local family had plenty of time to see him and say good-bye yesterday, and he hung in there until 7:10 EDT last night.
The funny thing was ... his "last request," of all things, was an egg sandwich. He ate about half of it, then looked contented and drifted off.
He was a WWII vet, and served in the Naval Armed Guard, which was an elite unit that was assigned to merchant marine ships crossing the Atlantic, which were always the target of U-boats. Later in life, about ten years ago or so, he developed colon cancer, but was able to survive it. In the end, it was a hiatal hernia that got him.
I am thankful that I got to spend the day yesterday with him, and tell him that I loved him. Not everyone gets that chance.
All of the local family had plenty of time to see him and say good-bye yesterday, and he hung in there until 7:10 EDT last night.
The funny thing was ... his "last request," of all things, was an egg sandwich. He ate about half of it, then looked contented and drifted off.
He was a WWII vet, and served in the Naval Armed Guard, which was an elite unit that was assigned to merchant marine ships crossing the Atlantic, which were always the target of U-boats. Later in life, about ten years ago or so, he developed colon cancer, but was able to survive it. In the end, it was a hiatal hernia that got him.
I am thankful that I got to spend the day yesterday with him, and tell him that I loved him. Not everyone gets that chance.
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