Memorializing a man who didn’t want to be memorialized

Word came that he had died.  Although he wasn’t in great health, it came as a shock. He died in a tragic way — and I’m still stunned.

He was my Dad’s friend.  One of three men who told bad jokes, passed time and created a strange support group for three men who’d never admit to having a support group. Now there are two.

He was a funny man. A caring one, too.  He was a father and a businessman.  A man who had reinvented himself years ago and started his own business.  He loved his ailing wife. And you could tell how much he loved his grandchildren.  The world has a big void in it now.

I knew he liked me.  You could see it in his smile when I’d visit him at his office.  He also looked forward to my family’s Christmas card that I’d drew every year. He was very disappointed that I had not done one this year. If he had lived, he would have gotten one after Christmas.

Hillary Clinton wrote a book with the title “It takes a Village to Raise a Child.”  He didn’t raise me — but he made my Dad happy.  And I respected him.  He’s just one more person who has entered my life and now left who left their mark on me. His death has left me sad to the core.

There won’t be a memorial service for him. Those were his wishes. But he’ll always be remembered.  At least as long as I’m alive.