Sunday, July 29, 2018
I am so glad that John and Norma have been a part of our family for so many years. I have always loved to see the both of them in their matching outfits and listen to their stories. John was quite a character! Sometimes his stories and ideas were a little over the top and quite "old-fashioned", but you only needed to realize that the time and place he lived, and the horrors and adventures he has experienced molded him into the man he became. The past few years saw a change in him. His mind leaving him, then his body not allowing him to do as much as he wanted. When I moved in with John and Norma in late January 2018, his memory was a little sporadic, but he was still working in the yard, going out to sit in the sun and watch the neighbors go by, and puttering in his garage. It seems so long ago, but in only a few months time, he began to decline fairly quickly, spending time in a skilled nursing facility, then eventually to a board and care home. John spent the last five weeks of his life among loving care professionals, with daily visits from Norma who sat by his side and held his hand for hours and hours. I think my favorite memory was just a week or so before he passed. John, in his hoarse and fragile voice, had asked for a CocaCola. Well, John never drank sodas, but I brought him a small glass bottle of Coke. He drank it and loved every bit of it. You should have seen his face when the bubbles hit him. He scrunched his face and shook his head and you could tell he got the carbonation buzz. He was beautiful and so peaceful when he died...with his boots on! I will miss that guy.
