My father had been sick for some time…Prostate Cancer. He fought the good fight for nearly 25 years since he was first diagnosed with cancer…a handful of different treatments, a lot of “wait and see” time, and more recently, some newly approved nuclear infusions…which seemed to be helping.
The new drugs helped enough to get him to his first granddaughter's wedding just a few weeks ago…it was the happiest I have seen him in some time. True joy that only comes from being surrounded by the people you love the most.
In the end, it was a Cardiac Arrest. Ironic for someone with such a big heart.
I know the moment has not really hit me yet…but, I know it’s coming.
As our family surrounded him in an ICU unit for over a week, here are some of the memories that went through my head:
The current image of my father that is stuck in my head is from when he coached my baseball team at Murphy Candler over 45 years ago…yellow jacket, yellow hat…we were the Padres. He coached that team with a friend from the office, Bill Elliot. I missed the entire season due to an illness.
When he was mad, he would bite down on the tip of his tongue. If you saw that, you were in trouble. I saw that a lot growing up.
We had two dogs in our house growing up, one we found on the street and one he bought at a garage sale. He loved those dogs. If he grilled hamburgers on the grill, he would make small hamburgers for them.
I wish I would have asked more questions. If you can’t complete the 20 questions on the death certificate form…you haven’t asked enough questions. I got 18 of them...but the other two were important…too important to not have known.
He loved gumdrops, orange circus peanuts, and saltwater taffy.
I don’t think my father ever ate a meal without getting something on his shirt.
I got to watch some of the best moments in sports with him…especially in golf…he loved golf. He had a hole-in-one once and broke 70…at least once…maybe twice. He got to play Pebble Beach a few times.
He was a knuckleball pitcher for his high school team in Texas. He pitched a no-hitter one time. He also gave up a home run to his father in a players vs parents game. His dad was a baseball player too.
He read a lot of books.
My father only wore two pieces of jewelry in his life…his original wedding band and his ring from Texas A&M University. He was a loyal husband and a loyal Aggie fan.
He worked at one company for most of his life…He impacted a lot of people’s lives…and they all impacted his. He was a good leader, a great manager, and if you were the client…he was the guy you wanted in charge of your business. He was a kind and forgiving boss who deeply cared about the people who worked for and with him.
The years I got to work at the same company with my father were some of the best years of my life.
He loved his wife.
He loved his three sons…and our wives
He loved his granddaughters.
My life did not happen like I thought it would…sometimes it was messy…Thankfully, I always had someone there to help me clean it up.
Thanks for everything Dad…I love you…Rest in Peace.
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