Marguerite’s Words Of Wisdom For July
2014-07-20
On the 15th of July, we celebrated the life of a wonderful man. My uncle Joseph Francis Hegarty Sr was the husband of my mother’s older sister, Mary. Out of my 24 cousins on Mom’s side, I was closest to his children, when I was growing up. Here they are on the day of Uncle Joe’s memorial, surrounding Auntie Eileen, our mothers’ only living sister.
This amazing family has faced the challenge of putting 4 relatives on hospice care in the past 7 years. Uncle John passed from lung cancer in 2007. Their mother, Mary, also passed at the end of 2007. Their beautiful sister, Joanne, went to heaven in the summer of 2013. Then they had to say goodbye to their father, Joe.
What amazed me about my cousins, was their outlook on life. Despite all these losses, they were able to focus on the Love and the blessings they had gained from their family members over the years, and NOT on the emptiness and the loss! The next day, my godson, Joe Jr; posted the video of their Father’s U S Marine Corp Flag Ceremony on his Facebook page.
Joe’s words really summed up the healthy attitude toward death and transition that this family has achieved. “Yesterday, I buried my father at the age of 88. He was my dad, my buddy, a devoted grandfather, an uncle, a marine in WW II, and a wonderful soul. He brought so much happiness and love into our lives. God has truly blessed my sisters and I with a great father and the best parents I could ever ask for. I know he is with my mother, and sister Joanne in Heaven. I have my own family to care for now, but I am happy to know we will all be reunited together someday in Heaven.” And so it is, Amen.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged death, death vs transition, delayed greif work, end of life issues, family loss, family support in grief, grief, hospice, loss of father, loss of mother, memorial services. Bookmark the permalink. ← Marguerite’s Words Of Wisdom For June Marguerite’s Words Of Wisdom For August →