Hello Adland friends.
A little over a week ago my Dad passed away. That very afternoon, here in Edmonton, I was feeling a little isolated and wanted to reach out to someone and share about my Dad.
Little did I realize the response I would receive in choosing to share Dad's story here with all of you.
It's taken me this long to get my things back on track, catching up on thousands of emails, but having to check all because some were messages like yours here in this forum.
I considered responding personally to each and every one of your messages of condolences, but right now that's just not possible, however I wanted in some way to let all of you know that I did read every one of your posts, and that they were very much appreciated by not only myself, but also by my family.
To this end, I've typed out manually every name of every person who took the time to post their messages here. Your names have been forever inscribed in my heart as true and caring friends.
Many of you also chose to share personal similarities with my situation here, and that helped so much to hear from others that understanding. The faith and courage you lent to me enabled me to get through the ordeal of saying those final goodbyes.
Sadly for the reason, but in a good way for other reasons, our whole family again gathered for Dad's service. Added to the gathering were Dad's two sisters and some of their family, his Niece Joanne sang so beautifully that even the Minister had to comment and had us all bawling, my cousin Lee who is the only other Southernwood branch member remaining in Canada and his wife, and literally hundreds of Dad's friends. His best friend Harold, and all his lodge members paid tribute, and my brother Jim and I stood up to speak about Dad.
One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life!
I'm sure that your prayers and the strength they gave me made it possible to speak through my tears and running nose and choking throat.
My deepest gratitude goes to the following people:
Louis Pominville, Susan Boston, Carl Vitale, Debbie Davis, Steven Downer, Nick Sym, Michael Galante, Diane Bjorling, Roger Macdivitt, Myrna Ferguson, Chuck Ferraro, Irene Favot, Tamara Boehm, Kathy Bard, Barb Doyle, Steven Suchar, Lawrence Heiner, Baldur, Bjarnason, James Hillaire, Chrystel E. Agnes, Sylvia Tyson, Joyce Radford, Joanne Martell, Bill Cagley, Julie Dillon-Read, Rudy Hiebert, Karen Hollenbeck, Bob Coaster, Robin McIntosh, Leonie Parker, Joh Partington, Tom Show, Ron Orr, Teddy Simpkins, Donald Rich, Amy Jorgenson, Wayne Murphy, Jeannie George, Frederick Bonner, Robert Talmadge, Sharon Lee, Christine Malm, Thomas Richmond, Victoria Pedersen, Ernest Creel, Vickie Fields-Byrd, John Crawford, Malcolm Grice, Jean Paul Quenneville, Roosevelt Barnes, Brian Hack, James Kinney, Damaris P.Y., Natalya Restivo, Sue Ouimet, Daniel Leo Bruno, Kevin Goodrich, Belkacem Midoun, Julie Bethel, Gerri Decher, Gerald English, Beverley Thonson, Tom Sparrow, Carl Haavaldsen, Keith Rankin, Rusty Yancey, Scott Reynolds, Glen Wielandt, Lauraine Collier, Sherel Daniels, Nan Herring, Herb Gruenewald, Alton Cady, Sonia Lawrence, Ilias Kone, Gabri Gloshina, Judy Smith, Carol Jarvis, Kathy Cuenca, Lawton Owen, Ray Ducharme, Marjorie Barton, Alexander Lodi, Rabindranath Panja, Holly Goodyer, Alberta Winston, Miles Cooper Jr., Vasin Thaithae, Rick Hicks, Mike Bumbalough, Richard Therrien, Ted Kusie, Rick Martin, Jerome Pfeifer, Linda Harvey, Susan Cadlo, Donna S, Anna Chounet, Joe Buccheri, Jenny Johnson, Terri Smith, Slavica Trudinger, Lutgarde Haling, Lyle Kenworthy, Sarah Pritchard, Odette Camilleri Bonet, Marsha Keiser, Yvette H., Mary Hofstetter, Roger Engelke, David & Katsue Lukasiak, Debbie Roxborough, Marjorie Dockery, Leonard Haynes, Richard Brinton, Michelle Walker, Judy Woodson, Rick Carver, Jo Matthias, Chris Wiseman, Dennis Morgan, Daniela Giordano, Michael Casalini, LaChelle Farmer, Laura Dziak, Florencetine Preston, Vanetta Cox, Jean Marie, Elizabeth Gough, Bryan Mcheyzer, Folkert Fulfs, Hazel Zwager, Terry Walker, Wayne Kemm, Leslie Combs, Tom Wade, Lottie Dubray, Pauline Raina, Tracy Koshman, Lloyd Clarke, Mel Rudolph