This has been a tough week in oour Home. We lost two very dear Family Friends this week.

Our Friend Mr. Jeremiah passed last weekend at the age of 94. He was an a amazing man. Well educated, bright, funny, and a wit as sharp as a straight edge razor. Mr. Jeremiah was a life long New Yorker but moved to our small Pennsylvania town about 7 years ago.
He was NOT happy to leave New York and didn't care for our small country town life style at first. Then his daughter took him to the Senior Center in town that my wife runs. He was embraced immediately by the Seniors and thru them met more and more friends.
He was so interesting. He actually took college courses at the age of 82. Many years ago, even before the civil rights movement he stood up vigorously for minorities. He actually pitched in Yankee Stadium at a tryout for the Yankees many years ago.

Mr. Jeremiah became a part of our Family. My Mom became one of his daytime caregivers (really just a companion to do things with) and he and my Dad struck up an awesome friendship. My kids LOVED him and considered him a third grandfather. I loved verbal sparring sessions with him where we woiuld take turns making ridiclous plays on words.
He was to many of our Family functions over the last 6 years and he and his Family became life long Friends. His daughter Trudy and her husband Hushang were at the hospital with me and my Mom nearly every day while my Dad was in his last weeks.

Though we will miss him dearly, we know that at 94, he had an amazing run. We were all enriched by his wit and kindness.

This one story I heard about him that sums him up clearly. He was driving his son and his son's friend to school one day. This is the conversation in the car that AM:

Mr. Jeremiah: "It's a great day for the race!"
Sons Friend: "What race Mr. Conway?"
Mr. Jeremiah: "The human race!"

Keep them laughing up there Mr. Jeremiah.


We also lost our dear Friend Ron Unger. Ron was only 62 and one of the kindest and definetly one the funniest men I've ever known. Ron was a small, frail looking man so you never expected the dirty jokes that flew from his lips. There were many times that we were out with our group of Friends that Ron would have us laughing so hard jaws would hurt the next morning.
Ron fought cancer for the last two years. He fought it like a champion.... with dignity, determination, and an obvious love for his wife and grown sons.
Ron was the President of our local Lions Club and an every week volunteer at our Fire Hall bingo nights. He was a pillar in oour community and will be missed by many.
Ron was an undertaker for many years which I'm sure helped lead to his amazing sense of humor.

Ron, whose last name was Unger,had this vanity license plate on his car: UNGER TKR

Ron my Friend..... I hope you don't have them blushing too badly up there.

So my real point of this thread? In my 52 years I had never been a "funeral goer". It was just one of those things I didn't really get or see the need for. Then my Dad passed in November. The out pouring of Love, Kindness, and Friendship we received from Friends, Family, and even members of our community was so helpful to our Family. Hearing stories about my Dad from others... things I didn't know about.... were a true gift to our Family.
To see so many loving and familiar faces in those last days of his life and then at his viewing and funeral was truly a comfort to all of us.

So as we helped to lay our two Friends to rest this week I could not help but think back two short months ago when my Family and I were in the shoes of our Friends Families. I was so sad for them but I knew that just by being there we were helping in some very small way. I knew that this was our final gift to our dear Friends that have left but that will never be forgotten.

Peace gentlemen...

Mike,

Sorry to hear of your losses.  We're both at the age where going to funerals is becoming a more common event.  Perhaps it's meant to help us realize that we all have impacts on other people's lives in ways that we can't really know or imagine.  Few of us will win the Nobel Prize or an Oscar or MVP award, but in thousands of small ways, we affect others.  Sounds like that was the case with your friends and from your posts, I think you are cut from the same cloth.

All the best.

What comes across to me from your post is that you truely recognise and enjoyed the good times, loosing those close to us can only ever be a terrible experience but it's remembering the good times and the knowledge that you'll never forget them is what helps to ease the pain.

Tomorrow is unfortunatly a date etched into my brain forever as my best friend took his own life on January 21st 2004 at the age of 20, still raw 9 years on but the good times will allways be that, good times and the knowledge that even just knowing the guy had an influence on who I am today (no not the baldy 20 stone bloke part!!  ), it feels good to know that a part of him still lives on in me and all the others he called a friend.

Sorry for your losses.

Mike,

I'm sorry to hear about the passing of two great men.  I'm sure you were impacted by them greatly, and I bet they were by you as well.  It is times like these that make us realize how precious life is, and how little time we have here on Earth.  I hope I can impact some people in this way before it is my time to go.   Thanks for sharing, and my condolences to you and yours.

Condolences for your losses Mike mate.
Seems you have plenty of great memories of both of your close friends.

Thank you guys... I loved these two men and will miss them greatly but I smile every single time i think of them.
Their passing, following so closely after the death of my Dad (another great guy) has been difficult. The feelings, that were just healing from the loss of my Dad, were sort of reopened over the weekend.

We did have our laughs the last two days though.

Mike, these are difficult times, but the Lord heals and comforts.  Thanks for investing in people as you have shared.  It makes these times more difficult, but worth it.

May His comfort heal your sorrows.

Sorry to hear about your losses bro. Both of these fellas sound like some great guys that really left an impression, of the positive sort, on you.

Funerals are tough. You have my sympathies there. I haven't been to one since I lost my dad five years back, and likely won't go to another one. It was a terrible experience that still causes me night terrors on a regular basis.