Happy Birthday Dad

Today would have been my dad's 88th birthday. He's been gone from us for about 6 weeks now and we miss him immensely. I've been contemplating for at least that long about what I wanted to say about him in this blog. I am sad that I won't have any more opportunities to really express to him how much I loved and appreciated him . As my sisters and I prepared our talk for his funeral, we found that it was impossible to be able to include everything that could have been said about him. I am overwhelmed when I think back to all he accomplished in his lifetime, and know that I will never be able to come even close to touching as many lives as he did. One thing that really stands out in my mind about him was that I never remember him ever saying anything bad or disrespectful about anyone. He was a friend to everyone. He was my hero.

If I can impress one just thing onto those of you who follow our blog, it would be to follow those promptings we receive. I can't say that I've always paid attention to those little nudges, but I am so glad that I did on this occasion. While my children and family know this story, others most likely haven't heard it.

We spent Christmas with Nicole and her family this year. We had planned to be with them about 10 days, probably the longest time they've ever had to entertain us. However, about the time we left for Cedar, I had a strong feeling that I should take a couple of days and go up to Logan to see my parents. We didn't tell them that we were planning to visit and left to go up there on Monday, the 28th with the plans to return to Cedar on Wednesday. After making several stops along the way, we finally arrived in Logan around 7:30 pm. We were going to stay with my sister in North Logan and since it was getting kind of late, I debated about whether or not to stop by Mom and Dad's that night or to wait until the next day. I felt very strongly that we should stop and see them that night. When we arrived, Dad was at the computer (probably playing his favorite game of Hearts). We sat at the kitchen table and visited with he and Mom until about 9:00. Dad gave us his usual take on the stock market and his investments, offered advise on his take on the state of the economy and the country, and expressed his displeasure with the new fence that had been constructed between them and the neighbors on the north -- he would have much preferred that the chain link fence he had stored out in the old chicken coop had been used. Since we were planning to spend the entire next day with them, we bid them good night, told them to sleep in and we'd be back in the morning.

The next morning, Dad got up, had breakfast with Mom, spent a little more time on the computer, and called Brent to tell him that he felt like he was coming down with a cold and perhaps they should change their plans to go to the temple the next day. When we got there later that morning, he had gone into his room to take a nap. Mom, Gaylene, and I spent the morning making toffee and cutting out a quilt. Around 2:00, I heard Dad calling to my mom. She went into his room to check on him and assist him to the bathroom. He was feeling very weak and we all needed to help my mom assist him in getting him situated back into bed. About this time, we noticed that his breathing was extremely raspy and commented that we didn't think it sounded quite right. We attempted to call his doctor's office and a family friend that is a nurse, but weren't able to reach either of them. Mom asked Dad if he felt we should take him to the hospital and he answered, "No". We became more concerned and were trying to determine what we should do when my mom told us that she thought he was gone, and we were unsuccessful in getting him to respond to us. He was taken to the hospital where they were unable to revive him.

I am so glad that I listened to those promptings. As a result I was able to spend some time with him and was also there with he and my mom at the time of his passing.

Dad had absolutely the most beautiful funeral I have ever attended -- I'm sure that he was watching and giving it a thumbs-up. The burial was also a special event as he was given military honors and we had arranged to have a bag-piper there to celebrate our Scottish heritage. The picture below was taken a couple days after his funeral -- it had been very cold and we were amazed to see how the frost had preserved the roses that had been on his casket.

This is one of the last pictures we have of Mom and Dad -- it was taken at our family party after Landon's blessing in July. I think it's a wonderful way to remember him.