About Dad

I had the privilege of caring for Dad the last 11 months of his life. He had his limitations, confusions, frustrations but he never once complained. He laughed a lot, sang hymns and choruses, read his Bible faithfully, enjoyed being around his family. He would ride with Mac to deliver hay and do errands. He would go with us to our grandkids ballgames and celebrate their birthdays. When he first came to stay with us, one of our sons was running for the State Senate so he was in quite a few parades and went with Mac to put up signs. He went to the State Capital for the swearing in. Two years ago he had climbed all the way to the top of the dome, 239 steps, the oldest person by 10 years to do it. So he thought he could do it again this time. He made it 90 steps, probably could have made it further if he had more time to rest in between. He would always count the stair steps he climbed whether it was at church or just going down the basement. That was in January after his open heart surgery in October. He loved to sit out on the porch and would sometimes sit out there until after dark. He loved popcorn so porch and popcorn went together. He liked candy and peanuts so I would keep some in his room for him. My sister Sheryl is buried in our family cemetery on our property and I keep a path mowed out to it about 1/2 mile from our house. Dad would say he should walk out there so I would get him pointed in the right direction and he would make it part way. Once when I walked with him, he made it all the way slowly, then I walked back and got the truck and went and picked him up. One of the special times he had was to baptize his great grandson Rowdy. One of our son's father-in-law took him up in his airplane. He always enjoyed flying. He loved to sing. In the evenings I would sit down at the piano and just start playing through the hymns and he would sing along. He still knew most of the words. He had his special sayings that he would repeat often. Some of those are: "fine as a frogs hair but I've never seen one; it's not what you know but Who you know and I know Him; you never know what a day will bring forth; it's a great life if you don't weaken and I'm getting weaker; my stepdad always said say something even though it doesn't sound smart"; and when you would say "Oh man or Oh boy, he would say "you talking about me" thinking we had said 'old man'. He talked about how he used to throw horse shoes and how to make a ringer. He thought he could still do it so our son made him a horse shoe box but I guess he never did have the energy to try it. When he had his open heart surgery, the surgeon said he had the insides of a man in his 60's. He recovered very well. His cardiologist was always amazed at how good he was for his age. He didn't look his age outside or inside. He had just had a test to check for a clogged artery in his neck and there was none. His PCP said medically with all the tests that had been run on him, he did not have the signs for a stroke like he had. We had just returned from a trip to FL to his granddaughters wedding. He did very well, even impressed the stewardess on the plane. I had just taken him to the eye doctor to get him new glasses the day before his stroke and the doctor said the vessels and all in his eyes looked good. But it was God's timing. God had his mansion ready and wanted to welcome His good and faithful servant to his new Home.; I am so thankful for the godly legacy he left us his family. His prayers, singing, laughter, positive outlook will never be forgotten.

-Fonda