And life goes on

I met him at my brother's wedding in 1995. He was the most down to earth, friendly, generous, humorous man I had the pleasure of calling family. He was a father of four beautiful children. He was the husband to a wonderful woman. They started out young and had faith deeper than most I know. He sang in a Barbershop Quartet. He bowled. He worked hard. He loved his family fiercely. He was my brother's brother in law. Despite the convoluted distant relation, he made our family part of his family.

In 1996 I moved accross country and stopped at their house to spend the night. We were family. We talked and broke bread together and laughed. They stood in their driveway and saw us off on our great adventure. They visited in the summer of 2001. I took them on a tour of Boston. We walked the freedom trail. Ate in the North End. They returned in the fall of 2001 to come to our wedding, sans children. It was special to have them there with us, it made our family complete. In 2002 my sister moved home from the West Coast, they stopped at their house. This summer my brother and his family moved back to Boston. They stopped at his house.

He celebrated his sister's and her family's wonderful move back to Boston. A few weeks ago he visited here, to see the new house, to visit with our family. My children were sick, we didn't see him.

This man, this wonderful man who impacted so many peoples lives, died in his sleep last night. He is free from pain. He is free from his long illness. I weep not because he is gone, but because his children and wife will miss him. I weep for them and their sadness. He I celebrate. He is with his God and is free. He is restored. He is reborn.

Thank you for being a part of our life. We will miss you.

Author's note: Here is the link for his website. Prior to his death he was on the transplant list for a kidney. Please make sure you are an organ donor.