I love you Grandpa. The family won't be the same without you.
I've never lost a family member so this is all very new to me. I honestly don't know how to feel. One side of me is extremely sad and depressed because I've lost my Grandfather, another side worries how my younger cousins are dealing with the situation because they've been forced to deal with it at a much younger age. I'm the oldest out of 14 grandchildren and our ages range from 23 to 3.... Typically, 23 year olds deal with death much better than teenagers and the children so I'm a little worried about my cousins... I guess that's just the "older cousin" in me feeling protective over the younger ones.
My Grandfathers death was in no way sudden or abrubt. He fought cancer tooth and nail for the past year and a half. About 2 weeks ago he decided to end his treatment due to the fact that his quality of life was rapidly decreasing and that he would only be prolonging his agony. It was a rough couple of weeks on our family, we all rallied together dispite geographic locations and time constraints to make sure that his last days were spent as comfortably as possible with his loved ones. The past week was the hardest, he didn't recognize us and was out of it due to the painkillers he was on. He died very peacefully this afternoon around 2PM with my Grandmother and Mother there by his bedside.
I give the guy credit... Grandpa was a fighter. He refused to give up, even towards the end he was looking to beat down the cancer that would ultimately consume him. It wasn't because he was a selfish person who wanted to cheat death and get one more day... He didn't want to miss out the "firsts"... A first communion, birthday, graduation, date, drivers test or holiday with any of his grandchildren. It was touching to see how he was with my younger cousins because I could remember being their age and going through the same thing. He's been watching us grow up for 23 years and there many more first occasions I wish he could have seen.
Looks like the wake will be this Friday and the funeral on Sunday. He's going to be bueried next to his parents overlooking a park. He picked the spot because he said it was nice because his children & grandchildren played in that park.
-David
My Grandfather ran a fish store called Moulton's Seafood. I googled it and here's what it came up with. Thought it was a dead on quote so why not throw it in.
Run by the same family since its opening in 1945, Moulton's sells fresh take-out seafood by the pound, uncooked or -- for $1.50 extra per pound -- cooked to your liking. Inexpensive lunch and dinner specials change from week to week, and two types of thick, creamy homemade chowder -- fish and clam -- are available at $1.95 for 12 ounces and $2.95 for 16 ounces. Take-out only; free local delivery on orders above $10. Moulton's is located at 178A Winthrop Street, in Medford; call 396-6466 for hours.