End of Watch

I am truly saddened today as I write this post. My dear Bonus Dad for the past 21 years went to meet Jesus on New Year's Day. 1-1 21- at 11. He would have loved that. He was a remarkable man and Al.com wrote a beautiful article. Bu they hardly touched on the man we knew and loved. He was a jokester.He was always ready with a joke or a harmless prank. And he loved being a clown at Children's Hospital. i have a great picture of him as a clown but the new Blogger wont let me upload any pictures. He was also a pretty good sleight of hand magician. He had some card tricks that, even to this day, had me scratching my head. He had this uncanny ability to know something was wrong. Everytime he said "something feels off" we knew it was time to head to the ER. When he asked my mother to call the priest on Christmas day, just before they intubated him, I felt he knew this was it. He loved me and my brother as if we were his own. No matter how chaotic things got, he always had great advice, even if it meant coming to quietly sit on us until things calmed down. He loved our children. Marrying into an instant family meant not only did he get grown children, but grandchildren as well. He loved being a grandfather. He won Julz over from the very start. Before he was officially in our family, he drove a Miss 4th Grade in our local Christmas parade in his shiny red Mustang convertable. He made sure she felt like a princess. When we added Tigger and Kitkat, he made the effort to include them as if they had alway been mine. He would often ask about them, even after the divorce and was happy I was able to maintain a relationship at least with Kitkat. But above all, he loved my mother. In their their last few years, they were inseperable. They did everything together. Even as he was admitted to the hospital, for the fight of his life, his thoughts were of her. He called me at my office to ask me to keep a check on her. I told him that I would but thought it would be a short time. Six weeks later,here we are. And despite already losing a spouse, this time she is lost. i can only hope to find a love like that. As i scroll through messages and articles, it is clear that our community has lost a dedicated public servant. His presence will surely be missed by many who called him friend. But it will definitly be missed by those of us who called him family. Rest in peace, Chief