Sunday Erin's grandpa, John Hicks passed away from complications due to pulmonary fibrosis. He had been sick for some time and last Monday started going downhill very fast. Erin and I flew down to FL on Saturday to say good-bye. It was very difficult, to say the least. When we got to Erin's mom's house Saturday evening, grandpa was up out of bed for what would be the last time. He knew we were there and we were able to talk with him for a few minutes. The next 8 hours or so were the last he seemed aware of what was going on around him. All 4 of his children made the trip down from MO to see him one last time.
Probably the most heart-breaking thing of the whole ordeal was watching grandma with him. A little background first -- grandpa and grandma have been together for some 71 years. In the last few years, grandma's memory has begun to deteriorate and as grandpa's health worsened, she couldn't seem to understand, or remember why he wasn't acting the way that he used to. However many times over the last few hours of grandpa's life, grandma would climb up in bed with him and they would snuggle together. She seemed to finally grasp, as least to some extent what was going on.
All of my grandparents have been dead for several years and I was actually never very close to any of them. But from the moment I joined the Roades/Hicks family I was treated like another grand-daughter. I can to feel much closer to Grandpa "Whitehair" (as Erin always called him) than to any of my own grandparents. He was a very sweet man and he will be greatly missed by many, many people.
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3 comments:
I am so sorry for your loss! I lost my Grandma on Christmas Day. It is not easy even sometimes today. I will be praying for you, Erin and his friends and family.
I am sorry to hear about Erin's Grandpa's death. It was really sweet to hear about him and his wife in his last hours. May God give you guys peace.
I would definitely love to get together when you're in town (this weekend we'll be out of town but another time, definitely). My e-mail is sandiwr@yahoo.com -- let me know when you're in town and we'll set something up!
Erin and Alissa -
Erin I was sorry to hear about your loss of Grandpa but am so glad that you were able to get down on Saturday/Sunday and spend some time with him. Hope the move goes well for Grandma and that your Mom can rest some. Nancy
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