Dad Part 3

My brother Tom was killed on September 22 1995. He jumped or fell from a building. The accounts vary. He was living in Cleveland at the time. I got the call and then told my parents. You can imagine the reaction. Middle of the night...  A call from the police... Grieving parents... Horrible... Mom was devastated, but, Dad held himself in control. I know it was the shock. He had to be strong for Mom. That's what husbands do for the love of their life... My sister and I took over and made things as easy as we could for them.. Tom's ashes were sent to us--- there was nothing left to his body after falling 28 stories---and, when my brother in law John and I went to Cleveland to clear up his affairs, Dad went with us. Surprisingly, he did well.A little of his old self emerged. It was the last time he was all there-- an example of his black humor was when he saw the picture of my brother's girl,and it wasn't pretty, Dad said'' I 'd jump too!!'' We came home and that's when Dad went down hill. He had time to think and grieve. It tore him apart and he started to think he was at fault as a father. Of course, it wasn't true, but, grief and guilt are unforgiving and eat your soul and sap your spirit. Do not let anyone tell you that a person cannot die of a broken heart--- it happens and it happened to my father. On top of his own failing health, he slowly died... On the night before he died, March 21st, I said goodbye to him as I  was leaving their house. Dad said, in a sad, lonely voice, '' Goodbye son.'' Looking back, I know that he was saying goodbye to me for the last time. Later in the evening, he told my mother,''I think I'm dying'', and he asked her to hold him.... Later in his sleep he went home to God... 6 months to the day after Tom's death... The day after his death I naturally called everybody to tell them about Dad. One of my closest friends, Rene, was one of the calls. It went like this, '' You know Rene, Dad fought the battles in life, but, he lost the war.''.. There was a pause...Then Rene said, '' No Jimmy, he didn't lose the war.He fought the battles in life and won them. And, after it was over, he was tired and he laid down and went to sleep.'' Thank you Brother Rene for putting it so well!!!... Mom joined him 2 years later after her even more horrible health problems. These two wonderful people suffered at the end of their lives and it was sad. But, the majority of life for them was joyful, loving, and fun. They believed that . So do I .  And, one day, I look forward to seeing all of them again.For those of you that didn't know them--- I will gladly introduce them all,with my proudest statement being, ''Meet my Dad!!'''