Its been a while since I've posted....haven't felt like it. The last time I was getting ready to launch into my favorite type of excitment filled hunting - spring gobbler. But life sure changes quickly. I went to Hagerstown on Monday to take my dad to a regular doctor's check up. I go to make sure mom and dad hear and understand what the doctor tells them. Dad had some really bad health issues that resulted from a heart attack 1 1/2 years ago.
His blood pressure and heart rate was taken and they were very concerned about low pressure...enough so that the doc admitted him to the hospital immediately. It went downhill quickly from there. On Tuesday the family was called in surrounding dad with love and support. After exhausting methods to right the problems the doctors told us there wasn't anything else that could be done.
I'll never ever forget how on a Wednesday afternoon his room was filled with love, stories, jokes, laughter, tears, family times, vacations, shooting matches, serving in WWII in N. Africa, one on ones, prayer and some singing of his favorite hymns.
With that dad went home to be with the Lord on Thursday morning. He was surrounded by the whole family and passed peacefully with no pain and with a whole bunch of love. The family collected many photos of dad through his entire life and his granddaughters Dana and Erin put them into a wonderful slide show. My wife and I put together posters of pictures and items from his life: police badge, uniform, hole in one club and ball, a letter from the White House thanking him for serving our country well, shooting trophies and team pics and his graduation pics from the FBI Academy etc, etc. It was a real tribute to dad's accomplishments. I had the pleasure of greeting many neighbors, acquaintences, policemen, and pistol team members who came to the viewing.
The service and burial was held with full military honors on Tuesday at the Rest Haven Chapel and Cemetary in Hagerstown. It was a beautiful service with my daughters and my wife and I singing two of his favorite hymns and my wife singing the Lord's Prayer. I had the extreme pleasure of delivering the eulogy. We heard the 21 gun salute and a wonderful melody from a bagpiper. My mom and sister knew dad would be pleased at the whole affair.
Dad and I were close. Although he didn't hunt, he was a top competition handgun shooter all his life. He introduced me to target shooting and guns at an early age. I started shooting as soon as I was old enough to hold a handgun with two hands. We shot together in the William Penn Pistol League for years. He continued until he couldn't hold compete in an entire match. He beamed each time I called and told him I killed a deer with the Python that he won so many trophies with. He was my hero as a policeman.
I will truly miss you dad.
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