The staff at Cheney Care Center had put him next to my mother, who is also at the facility; they were holding hands, both asleep when he passed.
Dad was 96, and had declined rapidly in the past few months due to stroke-induced dementia and congestive heart failure.
He died peacefully, without pain or struggle.
He and Mom, who is in the last stage of Alzheimer's disease, were married 71 years.
I last saw my father in late November. He was unable to carry on conversation of more than short, simple sentences, but he remembered how to hug, and how to say he loved me. And when we prayed together before parting, he cried a little.
His last, halting words, along with expressing his love, were that when alone, he sometimes felt a presence standing next to him. Watching over him, he believed.
In my faith, there are angels. I pray, and also believe, that presence was with him this morning, too, for a journey into the Light and Love of Our Lord.
Dad, your humor, love for music, love for a simple gospel of forgiveness, compassion and personal sacrifice, are what I treasure most. You were a great father, in an age when so many children have none.
We will meet again and embrace where memories are perfect, understanding complete, and Love eternal.
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