I will write a more fitting tribute punctuated by wonderful photos when my head is on straight, but I wanted to share the sad news that my father passed away this morning in hospice care at 1:42 a.m. He was surrounded by love, despite his futile efforts to often keep it at bay.
The physical loss is new–just 14 hours old–but due to his dementia, the loss of the version of my father that I was most familiar with began a few years ago. The last nine years of his life were especially difficult (for both him and his family) after the loss of our mother to ovarian cancer.
He is no longer confused, no longer descending further into the “stygian darkness” (a descriptive he loved to use on his blog) of dementia. I shot the photo below of the two of them a few years before Mom’s passing.
I love you, Dad.
(Excuse the quality of the photo; I’m in Texas and didn’t bring my original files; this is a screen grab so the resolution isn’t up to par.)
GIVE ‘EM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT