FAREWELL FATHER

Last Sunday, my 81-year-old father told one of his grandchildren that he (Dad) was going to be “delivered” on Friday.

Dad’s already diminished physical condition continued to deteriorate, but Wednesday was a good day. Dad seemed to be temporarily free from the vascular dementia and other diseases that had ravaged his once-strong body over the last few years. He was able to recognize and talk with everyone who called or came to visit that day.

Dad slept most of the day on Thursday. Then on Friday morning, December 18, 2009, our loving family gathered around Dad’s bed and sang along with one of Dad’s favorite CDs: Alan Jackson’s PRECIOUS MEMORIES. As we sang IN THE GARDEN, Dad opened his beautiful blue eyes wide and seemed to catch his first glimpse of an amazing heavenly garden beyond our worldly imagination.

I held Dad’s right hand tightly as my sister clung to her precious Daddy’s left hand. My mother kissed and caressed the face and neck of the man she’d loved and cared for during more than 55 years together. My brother, my daughter, and my sister’s husband and two sons laid their hands on my father’s frail, tired body as we continued to cry and sing songs of love and hope. When we began to sing along with I’LL FLY AWAY a few minutes later, my wonderful father’s spirit peacefully took flight and he passed from this world to the next at 1:52 A.M.

Please pray for our family in this time of grief and mourning. We can’t help ourselves. Also, help us rejoice for my father, RALPH HANSBERRY DAVIS. His journey is over and his recent arrival has made Heaven even more glorious than before.