Father left this world

[Sigarms]

My dad was discharged from WW2 at Indian Town Gap.
RIP to your father.

Thank you.

My 3 uncles served in WW2, and are all buried at the Gap as well.

The running joke with my dad was that when the Korean war hit, he originally wanted to join the Army. His 3 older brothers who came back from WW2 told him they would kick his ass if he joined the Army, so he joined the Air Force.

 

[Sigarms]

Picked up the death certificate over the weekend.

Immediate cause of death respiratory failure. Secondary, Right lower lobe pneumonia.

This is the funny part... Question on the certificate asks if tobacco use contributed to death. Answer - Probably.

The guy lived to the ripe old age of 90, and he stopped smoking close to 50 years ago when he got out of the service. Go figure.

 

[2manyrocks]

The role of family historian fell on me.

A person's life as they are perceived to have lived is sometimes summed up in their obituaries...sometimes in the eulogy given for them at their memorial service. I'd suggest that you consider recording the eulogy for future generations who didn't know your father, but who might wonder who your father really was and what was said about his life. If it's particularly descriptive, I'd probably have it transcribed into writing because recording media and playback devices tend to fail over time, but paper has a long life if properly stored.

That...and also suggest making notes of your own recollections and photos because that will help others down the road to know who he was and his importance to you.

 

[MossRoad]

Picked up the death certificate over the weekend.

Immediate cause of death respiratory failure. Secondary, Right lower lobe pneumonia.

This is the funny part... Question on the certificate asks if tobacco use contributed to death. Answer - Probably.

The guy lived to the ripe old age of 90, and he stopped smoking close to 50 years ago when he got out of the service. Go figure.

My father’s cause of death was listed as congestive heart failure.

He got congestive heart failure because he developed amyloidosis.

He developed amyloidosis because he had multiple myeloma cancer.

We all know the cancer started it, but it’s what finished him that’s listed as the cause of death.

Some too soon. Some in the blink of an eye. And some that get horrible suffering. It has nothing to do with if you’re a good or evil person. Hence, the appearance of the unfairness, when, in reality, it’s a crap shoot as to what kills you. Eventually, life gets us all.

 

[Sigarms]

The role of family historian fell on me.

A person's life as they are perceived to have lived is sometimes summed up in their obituaries...sometimes in the eulogy given for them at their memorial service. I'd suggest that you consider recording the eulogy for future generations who didn't know your father, but who might wonder who your father really was and what was said about his life. If it's particularly descriptive, I'd probably have it transcribed into writing because recording media and playback devices tend to fail over time, but paper has a long life if properly stored.

That...and also suggest making notes of your own recollections and photos because that will help others down the road to know who he was and his importance to you.

Funny you say that.

My dads parents and moms parents came off a boat in the early 1900's, and the reality is most of the family knows nothing about our past history before, say, 1905-1910.

We know the countries they came from and perhaps why, but not all the details.

My mom and her mother visited "Russia" back around 1975 (known as "the old country") What I remember is that a member of the government was with them at all times, and they actually did visit family there. I really wish I knew now to keep and preserve the information they collected back then.

The reality is when my dads parents came off the boat in the early 1900's, we had 2 different last name "changes" by 1940. The idea was to make the last name more easy to read and pronounced in the English language.

I've said this before here... My grandparents came to the US and they didn't have a pot to piss in. Both of my grandfathers died at a early age due to working in the coal mines. That said, some of their kids "made it". Those grandparents sacrificed themselves so their families could do better. Interesting concept today... (although I don't try to lose that on my son).

Sidenote, talked to my aunt yesterday. She is a good woman, but is 94 now. She mentioned that the Orthodox church in America does not believe in cremation. I was nice, but it was hard LOL (my dad was cremated per his own wishes after he saw the advantages when he went to his brothers funeral).

Thing is, some religions don't think you can go to the heaven as you understand it if you don't follow their "religious" rules. Exactly where in the Bible does it say you can't be creamated? Sorry, off on a tangent LMAO

 

[Sigarms]

Some in the blink of an eye. And some that get horrible suffering.

I had a 44 year old cousin die of Leukemia.

I had a 68 year old uncle die of Lung cancer (he smoked regularly).

Is it God who determines how you die or your own actions?

The irony is to some religions, suicide is a sin. If you know you're going to die, why not make the determination yourself? Would a loving God hold it against you to speed up the process on your own terms?

 

[Sigarms]

Yep. It's been my experience with the VA and family members is they are a killing machine. Don't go there unless you plan on dying. And you'll probably have to wait for hours. At least you'll get a free burial though.

I sincerely hope you're being facetious.

As Moss said, everything is a roll of the dice sometimes.

Back in the 90's, I followed the military doctors advice over the civilians doctors advice per orthopedics, and I'm glad I did.

For most of my fathers life he used the VA. He lived until 90. What more do you want?

Like any large organization, as I've said before, it doesn't come to the organization as a whole, but the people you work with.

Reality is if a medical professional made a mistake with my father at age 90 and it killed him, giving where my dad was at mentally vs his body, I'd be more thankful than looking for a lawsuit.

 

[kevin37b]

You did all you could do . You cannot defeat age . Kevin .

 

[2manyrocks]

Funny you say that.

My dads parents and moms parents came off a boat in the early 1900's, and the reality is most of the family knows nothing about our past history before, say, 1905-1910.

We know the countries they came from and perhaps why, but not all the details.

My mom and her mother visited "Russia" back around 1975 (known as "the old country") What I remember is that a member of the government was with them at all times, and they actually did visit family there. I really wish I knew now to keep and preserve the information they collected back then.

The reality is when my dads parents came off the boat in the early 1900's, we had 2 different last name "changes" by 1940. The idea was to make the last name more easy to read and pronounced in the English language.

I've said this before here... My grandparents came to the US and they didn't have a pot to piss in. Both of my grandfathers died at a early age due to working in the coal mines. That said, some of their kids "made it". Those grandparents sacrificed themselves so their families could do better. Interesting concept today... (although I don't try to lose that on my son).

Sidenote, talked to my aunt yesterday. She is a good woman, but is 94 now. She mentioned that the Orthodox church in America does not believe in cremation. I was nice, but it was hard LOL (my dad was cremated per his own wishes after he saw the advantages when he went to his brothers funeral).

Thing is, some religions don't think you can go to the heaven as you understand it if you don't follow their "religious" rules. Exactly where in the Bible does it say you can't be creamated? Sorry, off on a tangent LMAO

Family histories are imperfect. Document what you know because the next generation won't know anything except what you write down for them. Given enough time, people forget what they've been told. If it's important or interesting, write it down.

My aunt kept one short newspaper clipping about the death of a cousin in WWII that led to me researching more about his life. If it were not for that one newspaper clipping, I wouldn't have had any place to start.

Many family photographs containing significant historical information and clues get thrown out because later generations have no clue about who is in the photograph or their significance to family history. For example, you may easily know who is in a photo from 1960, when the photo was made, where it was made... and it's significance but future generations may not have the first clue unless you fill in the blanks for them.

If they don't understand the importance of something, they tend to throw it away.

I have photos going back to the early 1900s. There came a point when I realized that I may be one of the few people who can still identify the people in these photographs. That led to me organizing the photos, identifying the people and then writing about what I knew so their stories just didn't disappear.

You have an obvious talent for communication and attention to detail. Make a list of information and stories you want to share with future generations. Fill in the blanks for them as best you can.

 

[Sigarms]

You did all you could do . You cannot defeat age . Kevin .

Understood. End of the day, I'm more happy for my father than sad for myself.