David Israel

It is with a sorrow-filled and broken heart that I must write this….

The past few weeks have been hard watching my dad slowly transition from life to death and is something my brother, Shawn, and I were not ready for. I was worried about the decisions that I had to make, and trying to make sure that my dad received the care he needed and deserved. However, in that time I quickly came to realize that my dad was everyone's friend, he never met a stranger, and loved to talk to anyone, especially about sports. I can honestly say that in the past few weeks I met at least one friend from every stage of his life! I know many people will miss his sarcasm, his sense of humor, his vast sports knowledge, his kindness, and general presence; he was good at showing-up when it mattered most to people. My dad was never going to let cancer win; and with that mindset he unfortunately refused to take care of end-of-life arrangements, because to him it felt like he was giving up his fight. Although the fight in his mind and spirit were admirable, Shawn and I have not been able to find a way to fulfill his wish to be buried with funeral services. And now I humbly bring myself to ask his friends to “show-up” when it matters most to him. Any help would be greatly appreciated as we have no other financial means to fulfill his final wishes.