So this day in 2013, I was working a project near Reklaw TX when I received a call that dad was headed home from Silsbee Oaks in final hospice care. I drove two hours and missed seeing him get home….My sister in law who is a home health RN said that as his gurney passed through the front door , he whispered “home”. He passed on Sept 6. We had hoped that his granddaughter who lived in Austin at the time would make it home to say goodbye and Dad waited / hung on until 20 minutes after she arrived and told him ” Papa I am here and I love you”, then he stopped breathing. His family was there surrounding him, as he breathed his last, we sang “I’ll fly away”. It seemed fitting to send him forth with a hymn he enjoyed singing. He was a good man who showed by his life what the right thing was to do. We were blessed that his grand niece and daughter in law were both home health/hospice care RN’s and were there almost the entire 3 days to comfort him out of this life.
This man raised three boys and was a wonderful grandfather and got to see a great grandchild. His example guides me each moment. I marvel at the life he provided my brothers and I. Camping, fishing, building fences, gardening, milking cows, killing chicken snakes and possums to protect the chickens and the eggs. Strong and steady, He survived a near fatal fire that set him back for over a year. I never ever heard a curse come from his mouth, he modeled God for us by his actions.
Love you dad.
I am glad he was my dad. They do not make them like him anymore, at least not enough of them.
John Hargrove Seeking Truth and Reality 