Dad passed away this morning

I regret having post that my dad passed away this morning, officially pronounced at 8:25am.

I rejoice in more, though: He died with no suffering or struggling, peacefully slipping from sleep into eternity. My brother & sister-in-law were with him, so he was not alone. He's probably singing with J.D. Sumner & Jimmy Blackwood & a bunch of his other quartet heroes right now. The memorial service will probably be the morning or afternoon of Saturday May 13 (in classic Dad fashion, on a date & time that doesn't interfere with a quartet convention, concert, or the opening of any of the major hunting or fishing seasons).

My mom's the one to pull for today. I was convinced that Denise was going to die a few times. As abysmal as I felt in just thinking my spouse was going to die, my mom's crossed that line and must feel worse. The worst day of her life, no doubt.

I'm still good with all this. Everything got said, no regrets in the relationship, he was happy to be visited & called by so many friends (and hear the emails), and he told my brother & I about any loose ends to tie up for him. Nothing left to worry about. The last time I asked him if he was scared, he still said "Nope." All this pours new understanding into the phrase, "It is finished."

He told a friend (and the other day also told Denise) that he only did the chemo because he wanted to be around long enough to see her get better. I'm glad that he got to accomplish that. Today marks nine months to the day that Denise started her hospital stay.