Dad’s Passing

Avatar Magic, By Gerald Franquemont, is now on Kindle and it can be downloaded onto most computers and reading devices.)

(Howard passed away on Nov. 8th @ 10:30 AM)

Howard is a good man. He is my father-in-law and I can still use the present tense as of this writing though Howard is currently slipping into a coma that will end in his passing. He is a strong man, a gentle man, a kind man, one who has always held true to his convictions. No one who knows him could question his loving nature and his understanding attentiveness to the intricacies involved within the lives he touched.

He tends to let things be as they are rather than fight about it. His method of landscaping is to allow the plants that survive to grow and the ones that take too much care to pass on, “They belong somewhere else.” And all the while that Pete the Pelican’s statue stood by in his yard was a reminder that Howard is aware of the nature within all things.

If the eyes are the window to the soul than what is a person’s voice the messenger of? You’d have to go to the New York Opera House to hear a louder, clearer voice than the one that rings from Howard as he sings. The first time I attended church with Howard he sang brilliantly by my side. When the church song had ended everyone there turned to see who had been singing with such force and beauty; the pastor took a moment to regain his composure. Often it is said that it is the little things that add up in life, but with Howard everything is big: his voice, his caring ways, his laughter and his humor are all so much fun to know.

It is difficult to put a finger on something that is truly missing, but in Howard’s case what will be missing for me when he is gone will be his wide open spirit. Fortunately my wife and I were lucky enough to have just seen him this past Oct.  And then again to have shared phone conversations with him during the Gator football game with Georgia.( We are Gator fans.) The Gators were getting kicked in the teeth by Georgia and Howard had called to tell me to suit up and get out there.

I will get out there Howard, and I’ll always have you within my heart;  we’ll always be on the same team together Howard: you are my buddy.  Unfortunately Howard had a stroke that has left him unable to ever eat, walk or talk again the very day after our last phone conversation, so the decision has been made to follow his wishes and to allow his passing to take place under Hospice care.

The family gathered on a pier where Howard’s ashes will be placed  into the same spot on a river where his wife’s ashes were placed in 2005. Howard has missed Annette Strauss for many years now. Two Dolphin swam by in the river as the family visited this spot just two days ago, a rarity of occurrence and one I’ve never witnessed in all the times I have been to this pier. It is easy for the human spirit to feel as though the two dolphin appeared as a heart warming message to those of us left living that these two souls will once again soon be united. In the very least it is safe to say that Life is mysterious.

Howard’s favorite saying is “It hasn’t been easy.” He always says this with a smile on his face, letting the listener know that in fact this is how he takes things: with a gentle patience and a kind word.  In truth there is no one who knows Howard whose life hasn’t been made easier because they did.

Thank You for this Howard, and for so much more. You truly are larger than life.

Franque23.