Let me know what I can do, I'll do by best. On Feb 4, 2008 11:57 AM, Dana <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > He sounds like a great man. I am sorry for your loss. Adam is right > though, this is very eloquent and I bet it would make a great > obituary. Possibly Hatton could help you get it into the local paper? > > > On 2/3/08, Jim Davis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Got a call last Thursday that he was in the hospital (he's been in and out > > with lung problems). We drove up (they're outside Buffalo, we're in > > Scranton). By the time we got there he was doing much better - he had been > > dehydrated the fluids were doing him worlds of good. We stayed for a couple > > nights but had to leave - we had left the kids with neighbors. > > > > We got a call late Sunday that he had taken a turn (his kidneys had failed) > > and before we could leave again he had died. My brother and I headed back > > together for the services. > > > > He wasn't doing well for the past few years. His hands were so arthritic > > that he couldn't feel them, macular degeneration (or, as my grandmother > > would say "immaculate congeneration") had made him effectively blind and he > > was, as he put it "deaf in one ear and couldn't hear out of the other" (a > > bout of shingles had burst his right eardrum). He had leukemia and his left > > lung had collapsed several times in the past year. > > > > His father and mother ran a cook-tent for various carnivals and his father, > > Carolton had some success as a singer and songwriter. When not in school my > > grandfather worked the shows doing whatever needed to be done. > > > > He left school in 1943 to enlist in the army and served for just under two > > years with the 256 Field Artillery Battalion. They ended up on Omaha Beach > > on June 7th where he drove a 1/4 ton truck transporting wounded from the > > front lines to field hospitals. Over the next two years his battalion > > reached the outskirts of Berlin and ended up in Stuttgart. > > > > When he came back he married my grandmother (they recently celebrated their > > 61st anniversary) and moved into his parents' home in Tonawanda, NY where > > they built out the attic into an apartment. He worked as a machinist and > > raised two children in the same house. When my parents got married we moved > > into the same attic apartment where we lived until I was 12. > > > > He was very active in the community being a member of the American Legion, > > the Masons, the Star Camping Group, Last Man's Club, Tonawanda Senior > > Center, the Salvation Army, Tonawanda Senior Travel Club and "The Barge Men" > > singing group. He was fixture in his later years, sitting on his porch and > > waving happily to everybody that passed. > > > > He was honored with several services: the American Legion, the Masons and a > > military service. The flag from that service will be donated to the > > Veterans Association where it will be flown over the Tonawanda Veterans > > Memorial. > > > > He was a strong, tall man and honestly giving and kind (not the "now that > > he's dead we'll make up good things" giving and kind). He was always the > > calm at the center of my family's many ridiculous feuds and was one of the > > very few that refused to take sides. We didn't always agree but we never > > fought. > > > > I'm going to miss him. > > > > Jim Davis > > > > > > > > > > > >
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