A week ago, my Dad, who has been suffering for months from a severe lack of oxygen due to his terminal illness shared with us his plans to soon come out of retirement and return to work. As his body continues to fail and to shut down, nothing, not even death, could suppress his need to want to provide for his wife and family. With help, he shuffled back into bed and hasn’t been out of bed since.

My Dad has lived a life of valiant service and sacrifice for the sole benefit of anyone lucky enough to know him and be cared for by him. His life was defined by the honorable duty of providing for his family, making every sacrifice necessary to ensure we would never be without.

He also instilled in us is the importance of generosity. The value of sharing what little we might possess with others so they never knew what it felt like to be without. He welcomed many children into his home and made sure that his kids and grandkids always knew he’d never let them be without.

My Dad worked up until his body finally couldn’t anymore. With his body failing him, he was forced into retirement, and like many living on a severely fixed income. He had to forfeit any life insurance he had obtained through his job. We weren’t able to secure life insurance as his condition was just too poor.

Dad’s tenacity and drive have kept him alive long past all expectations. He has smiled through his imminent decline, often dancing his way through the dying process just to bring laughter to an otherwise tearful room. His only grief? The only time he shed a tear through this all, wasn’t due to the excruciating pain nor the panic he felt in times when he couldn’t breathe, it was due to concern for all of us. He didn’t want his condition and inevitable death to be put on his family. Both emotionally and financially.

The devastation of soon losing him is unimaginable. A pain so deep it’s impossible to describe. For that we just ask for genuine prayers.

Left to deal with the financial burden, despite Dads’s best intentions, we’re lost. We’re no stranger to hard work, led by Dad’s example and his testimony of faith, tenacity, and perseverance through all circumstances, but I can’t pretend this cross isn’t heavy.

I pray the same generosity my Dad showed to his family and so many others, might lend itself to him as we send him home to be with Jesus and honor his memory.

In closing, whether or not you’re able to donate I ask for you to pray. Dad is a man who is devout in his faith and believes that whatever his hands or his heart can’t fix, that prayers will do the trick. Please pray for Dad’s peace and comfort as he passes and for our Mom, his best friend.

Thank you, friends.