Update on why I've been MIA

Maybe some people have noticed, but I've been quiet since Thursday of last week.

My dad was found deceased on Thursday evening, when he didn't show up for bowling night. He was 69, and this was very sudden. Shockingly sudden.

I flew to Ohio to be with my family and make arrangements. We buried him today.

Some of you know, via Facebook and a few quick posts. But for anybody who PM'd me and didn't get a response, please know that it was because I just have been overwhelmed with things and my family is my priority.

My dad was the most honest and ethical man I ever knew. He was quiet and unassuming, and a simple person in so many ways. I'm in shock, and in mourning.

I spoke today at his funeral, so that we could say our goodbyes to him. He was widowed at 35 years old- 34 years ago! He was a single dad, before "single parent" was even in common lingo.

He called my beer "that homebrew ****", unless it was a cream ale. But he drove me to beer bars when I visited, and went to some breweries with me and some homebrew stores.

He loved his family, and especially his grandkids. My family is devastated. He will be greatly missed.

so sorry for you loss

Continued thoughts and prayers for you, Yoop. Losing a family member is never easy.

So sorry to hear about this, stay strong, you will get through it.

My condolences Yooper. Hope you and your family can be together during this time.

Deepest condolences on your family's loss.

My words will offer nothing. But I am sorry nonetheless. Best wishes to you and your family.

Losing a parent is very tough, no matter the age. I'm very sorry for your loss.

Thats sad news, very sorry for your loss.

So sorry for your loss Yooper.

My sincere condolences to you and your entire family.

glenn514

So sorry for your loss Yooper.

It sucks getting old since it seems that you attend more funerals. But the hardest ones are the ones for your parents at least that has been for me.

Hugs for you Yooper and I hope the best for you and your family

Very sorry for your loss.

Sorry to hear of your dads passing. Sounds like he was a good man. My heartfelt condolences to you and yours.

Sorry for your loss Yooper.
May peace fill your heart as the love of family and friends is sent your way via thoughts and prayers.

Sorry for your loss Yooper.

Sounds like a good man, the kind I hope to be.

It's tough to lose a father, I'm sure he's in a good place.

Sorry for your loss.

Sorry to hear about your father Yooper... Mine died over 15 years ago and I still miss him. It wasn't as sudden as with you, but it sucks all the same.

Sorry Yooper - sounds like a great man

Yooper, I'm so sorry for your loss. My thoughts, prayers and support go out to you and your family. If there is anything you need, we're all here for you.

My deepest condolences to you and your family.

Lorena,
I am so sorry to hear this sad news. You have been a pillar around here, so the least we can all do is offer you warmth and hugs and thoughts and prayers for you and your family as you go thru these trying times. I lost my dad a while back and while no relationships are identical, I can certainly understand your loss.

My best for you and yours.

Sorry for your loss.

Seeing the product of his parenting, he must have been an outstanding man. It's so hard to loose family members. Even harder to loose the family members we love dearly.

I'll lift a cream ale in his honor.

~Sending thoughts and prayers your way.

best wishes for you and your family.

Sorry Yooper. Take your time. Take care of things. We'll keep the brew kettle on for you.

It is never easy. Hopefully he didn't Suffer.

My mom died around the holidays. Can't say for sure, but it seems to make it harder with all of the holiday reminders and commercials.

Sorry for your loss.

Sorry to hear you lost your dad.

My sympathies to you and your family Yooper.

So sorry for your loss.

My condolences to you and your family.

You have a lifetime of memories from the past, and a lifetime in your future to enjoy every one of them over and over again.
He will always be there.

bosco

I am sorry for your loss Yooper. My mother died 2 years ago, it is never easy losing a parent. My thoughts and prayers are for you and yours, my heart goes out to you!

That homebrew ****.... But completely supportive of you. That's what makes a great Dad. Sorry for your loss.

Yooper,

My sincerest sympathy on you and your family's loss. My own Father passed last August rather unexpectedly. He went into the hospital with a skin infection in his leg, developed sepsis and suffered a massive heart attack (his third). Something told me that I needed to be there when he went into the hospital, and i'm glad I dropped everything and drove the seven hours back to my home town to do that. I got to visit with him the day before and he seemed fine. Joking, watching preseason football and being his typical Dad-self. My Mother had just visited him that morning and I was going in that afternoon. I'd stopped at a restaurant to grab a bite of lunch when we got the call that he'd passed. It pretty much floored us. As the executor of his will, there was a ton of paperwork to investigate, go over and file. My Mother was in no condition to do it all so most of the grunt work fell to my Sister and I. The family did their best to help with all of that. I'm sure yours is doing the same.

Know this. Just after I returned home to my Wife and children, I was watching the baby in our living room. She was about a year and a half old at the time and was playing with some of her toys while I drank my morning coffee. Out of the blue, she stood up and came over to the sofa where I was sitting, saying, "Grandpa!" She repeated it several times when she climbed into my lap. At the time, I just chalked it up as being odd and didn't think anything more of it.

Later that afternoon, my Wife and I had gone out grocery shopping. When we got home, our oldest Daughter (who was babysitting for us) told us that she'd taken the baby to the changing table to change her diaper. She said that the baby was staring up at a corner of the ceiling and started saying, "Grandpa!" She said that the baby wouldn't stop giggling and laughing, and said that it was the strangest thing she'd ever seen. I hadn't told anyone about what the baby had said to me earlier that morning.

You might call us crazy, but we really do believe we had a little visit from my Father. I firmly believe that there is something after death, although i'm not quite sure what. What I do suspect is that we have the ability to return after we've died and crossed over, and that Dad paid us a little visit to check up on how we were all doing.

Upon telling my Mother about this, it was enough to help her perk up a little and now she's relocating down to our neck of the woods in Florida to be close to her youngest grandbaby, our Daughter.

I can offer you my empathy as well as my sympathy. It is a tremendous loss, yet you will find your way through it. Keep an eye out for signs that he's around, and know that he's looking out for you as much as you think about him.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I chilled a Genny Cream Ale and drank a toast to him tonight.

I am so sorry for your loss Yooper. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Sorry for your loss, Yooper. Sending positive thoughts your way.

Sorry for your loss.

Thank you all for the kind words- and those of you who remembered his favorite beer!

He has two 30 packs of Genny here, so I'll take them home for Bob and I.

Here's something that I want to share with all of you. He had a habit of opening a beer, and turning the pop top about 1/2 way so he could identify his beer.

He'd drink a bit of it, and then pop it back in the fridge for later.

When I got here on Friday, about 18 hours after he was found, I opened the fridge. On the shelf, there was an opened Genny, with the top turned about 1/2 way. We assume that he opened the beer, sipped on it, and then put it aside for later. He was found at 6:30 PM, sleeping in his chair.

Neither my brother or I could bear to pour it out. So on Saturday, when my dad's brothers and families started arriving, we pulled it out. My brother, sister-in-law, and I cracked open our own beers, and clinked cans with my dad's and drank to him.
That can had been in his hand, sipped on by him, and was ready for him after his nap.

That was the last time I had a beer with my dad.

Yooper said:

dad was the most honest and ethical man I ever knew.

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I hope my son remembers me that way some day. What a great statement about a man. Again, sorry for your loss.