The family gathers to celebrate a life...

My father-in-law died on Tuesday, June 26th. We're all still a little stunned because he died suddenly, unexpectedly. He was literally gone in an instant. There was no time for goodbyes but also no time for pain and suffering.

We're still trying to wrap our minds around how this could happen to someone that we loved so much. He was 74 and we were planning to have a huge surprise party for his 75th birthday in December. My mother-in-law had already booked the hall and the caterers and was busy finalizing the plans. But instead of a party we had a visitation, attended by around 400 family and friends and a memorial service, attended by about 130. He touched many lives in his 74 years.

He was a great father-in-law to me and I'm already missing him terribly. I saw him practically every day since Doug and I married in 1996 even if only to wave as I went up the driveway. Our house is built behind theirs and he mowed our lawn along with his because he loved to mow. He was a dairy farmer by birth and by choice, milking twice a day every day of his life from the time he was old enough until they sold the herd and retired in the mid 1990's. Mowing gave him an opportunity to be outside in the fresh air without putting too much stress on his tired old knees, which he had worn completely out.

I'll post some pictures later. For now, we're just trying to adapt to this new life with him.