A Sad Ending

I just got back from a very sad funeral. But it wasn’t because so many people were crying. This guy was 59, retired from Qwest 2 years ago, an introvert and an avid bicyclist. He helped me out a bunch back when I did the Lung 150. Now, today, only about 60 people attended his funeral, and only a few folks that came were from Qwest.

He moved out here in 94 when I did, so he's had 12 years to make friends here, but a lot of us made the move with him from Minneapolis, so potentially he would have had a lot more former co-workers there. It’s not like folks didn’t have some warning. He found out that he had cancer almost two years ago.

There were no hymns. No vocal solos. An Episcopal deacon did the service. She said some generic things about how God loves all of us, but there was no mention of his faith, or anything good he did, other than allusions to the biking/racing, and that his last words to their only daughter were: "I love you." His wife, Sylvia, had written a last letter to her husband, and the deacon read it.

Listening to the crowd, I overheard a number of folks say, “I’m a friend of Sylvia’s.” Wow. I sure hope that if I die before I’m 60, things are much different.