Copied from the Lounge:
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Dec 30, 2014 at 17:15 Pistolenschutzen said:
At shortly before 10:00 AM Mountain Time this morning, December 30, 2014, Sandy, my wife and companion of 38 years, passed away in our home of advanced pancreatic cancer.  The tumor on her pancreas was discovered by a CAT scan in mid-July of this year, but unfortunately, when discovered it was at Stage 4b and had already metastasized to her liver.  It was her choice not to undergo chemotherapy, mostly because it would have done relatively little good at that stage and the extra few months, perhaps just weeks, it might have gained for her were simply not worth the suffering the chemo itself would have caused.  She knew I would support her in whatever decision she made regarding the chemo, but I believed then, and still believe, she made the right choice.

I did not make her condition public here on the forum because I had no wish to burden any of you with the great sadness and anguish it has caused me and the other members of my family.  That is simply not my way.  I hope you all will understand my feelings on this, and please do know my decision not to make the issue public here was in no way based on any mistrust of the members of TFL.  It was simply because I am one of those who finds it very difficult to share troubles of this kind, and I prefer to deal with them in my own way.

Funeral services for Sandy will be held here in Canon City, Colorado on Friday, January 2, 2015 at 11:00 AM.  The service will be held at the Harwood Chapel located at 516 N. 10th, Canon City, Colorado, followed by interment at the Lakeside Cemetery, also here in Canon City.  Harwood Funeral Service is also handling all of the arrangements for the funeral.

To say that the last six months have been difficult would be an enormous understatement.  Sandy faced this terrible illness with great courage and fortitude, but there could be only one final outcome.  I know in my heart that at least now her pain is at last gone.  In that, at least, I take a bit of comfort.

Thank you all for your understanding.

--Rich
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Dec 31, 2014 at 14:27 armedandsafe said:
A very good friend of mine, who lives in Colorado, has offered to represent us at the services. He will be representing me, of course, but also as representative of this forum.

The memory book can be signed here:
www.harwoodfunerals.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=2886871&fh_id=14714

Pops
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Dec 31, 2014 at 22:58 Pistolenschutzen said:

Thank you very, very much for posting that link, Pops, and for the forum representation you arranged for the funeral.  Both are much appreciated.

And thanks to all of you for your words of support and sympathy in this very difficult time.  They mean more to me than I suspect any of you can possibly imagine.

The funeral service Friday will be a simple one, which was Sandy's clearly expressed wish.  Indeed, her preference was for merely a simple grave-side service, but the winter weather we're experiencing here (it was -6 last night with considerable snow; it's expected to hit sub-zero again tonight) makes a normal outdoor service pretty much impossible.  I promised her that it would be as she requested, and I have kept my word to her on that.  We opted for a brief service in the chapel, followed by a few words grave-side for the interment.  The service will be closed-casket which was also her wish, as well as my own desire.  I want her remembered as she truly was, not as she looked at the time of her death after the ravages of her illness had taken their toll.  Down the road a bit, probably in the early spring, I will have a stone cut for her and placed at the grave-site.  The cemetery where she will be laid to rest still allows grave stones to be above ground level, so that is what I will opt for.  I must do some thinking about what inscription I want placed on the stone besides the customary name, date of birth, and date of death.  Sandy was not a complex person, so I will keep it simple as she would have wished.

The last couple of days have been difficult for me, as I am sure you can all understand.  I don't think the full impact of her passing has really hit me yet, but I know it will come, particularly after the funeral Friday.  Sandy and I were together through thick and thin for over 38 years.  The thought of moving on into a lonely future without her is a truly frightening one for me.  Yet life must go on, and I know Sandy wanted it that way.
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Jan 2, 2015 at 17:22  Pistolenschutzen said:
The funeral service for Sandy was held as scheduled at 11:00 this morning, followed by a brief ceremony at the cemetery for the interment.  The family and I were very pleased with how everything proceeded.  As we had requested, the service was relatively brief and to the point, but still very tastefully done.  The pastor who performed the service did not preach, but relied mostly on cherished passages from scripture as his basis, particularly the 23rd Psalm.  The funeral director, at my request, made certain the hymn "Amazing Grace" was included in the music provided.  I've always considered that hymn to be one of the most beautiful ever written, and it seemed appropriate to me somehow that it be included.  At the graveside the ceremony was also brief, which was a very good thing since the temperature was around 30 degrees at the time.  All in all, we were extremely pleased with the arrangements made by the funeral service we engaged.  They planned everything exactly as we had requested, and for that I was most grateful.  The service was very well attended.  Many of Sandy's friends and co-workers, as well as mine, attended the service, and many who could not sent flowers.  The chapel was very well filled, and all had nice things to say afterward about their association with Sandy.

Pops, a special note to you:  Your friends Bob and Barbara Bell were there as promised representing the forum, and Bob made a special effort to chat with me before the ceremony began.  I felt that was extremely courteous and thoughtful of him, and it was much appreciated.

The service today sort of puts a period for me at the end of these last few terrible months.  Now it is time to move forward and see what the morrow brings.
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