He was always a stubborn man; his way or the highway. So when he finally got to the point in his health where tough decisions needed to be made that would give him another month or maybe year of life, he was the one deciding. Although his physical health had continued to decline steadily over a 10-14 day timeline, his mind was completely clear. Many, including his family physician, encouraged him to have surgery (he had fluid on his lungs and surrounding his heart (cause of death - congestive heart failure), making it very difficult to breathe and taking medication that caused little to no appetite). He declined surgery, declined surgery, declined surgery. He lived on his own terms, and it was clear he was going to die on his own terms. He always did things the way he wanted them, and this would be no different. We all knew in and around the 48 hours of his death that it was imminent, and he passed in his own bed in his own home surrounded by family.
His legacy is remarkable on so many levels, and to attempt a blog post describing them all would be a tall order, so I will refer blog readers to a separate book (that all my kids will have) constructed by my Uncle Joe which includes Grandpa's obituary, several articles on Grandpa including one in the New York Times both online and in print, a screenshot of his feature on the Today's show narrated by Willie Geist, his eulogy written and delivered by my Uncle Joe, etc.
We miss you Grandpa!
Our family continuing legacies... Jules, Jeffrey, Grandpa, Uncle Jeff, Dad
4th of July fun!
The last birthday celebration for Grandpa. Lots more celebrating to happen in Heaven!
What an honor to be asked to speak at Grandpa's service!
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