Help Our Family Lay Our Dad To Rest

To loved ones, acquaintances, and strangers alike:

Almost 48 hours ago, on April 9th, my father, Christopher Sean Mitchell, passed away after a long battle with his health for many years. It's a miracle he lived as long as he did, to be fair, but it didn't come as any less of a panic-inducing shock when I opened my phone and saw the first message giving condolences for his passing.

He ultimately passed due to complications with severe kidney disease that left him on dialysis for a handful of years. I will be forever grateful to the nurses that cared for him and gave me more time with him that he wouldn't have had otherwise. Thank you.

I had been anticipating that day for nearly a decade of my life, and when the other shoe dropped, I realized there was an entirely new aspect of a close loved one's death that I had to contend with: the logistics of their death care.

It doesn't make it any easier that he didn't seem to leave any kind of will or declaration of next of kin, and being as I've been living in Germany for 6 years, I’ve had to coordinate long-distance with a family I’ve had limited contact with over the years — many of whom have been going through their own financial and personal hardships — all while trying to process the loss itself.

As of right now, our only options are to give him up to the county, or donate his body to science - one of which is horrifyingly impersonal, the other of which, while noble, would still leave the funeral and wake aspect unaddressed.

Critically, we're on a timer when it comes to all of this: we only have about 5-7 days before our decisions need to be made (being the deadline for transporting his body out of the hospital), and ideally it would happen in time for everyone to schedule their days to attend, including me as I'll only be visiting from the 14th to the 27th.

He was a deeply, fervently religious man who lived his life the way I believe a Christian should - offered to help when he could, never passed judgement too harshly, even on those who hurt him, and was almost sickeningly sweet to every stranger he came across. In public, it seemed he was only ever looking to make others laugh - whether via corny dad jokes, mild annoyance, or simple small talk. But just before he passed, it seemed his life was actively falling apart around him in nearly every way, and his health was quickly following suit.

So while I'm relieved he's no longer suffering and I know he's at peace spiritually, all I want is to give him the rest and respect he deserves here on the earthly plane. Not just for his sake, but for everyone who was ever touched by his random acts of kindness, or his devotion to God, and for anyone else who loved him dearly, or just knew him in passing.

If you can donate anything at all to help, it would mean the absolute world to me and the rest of my family. $1,500 of the funds will be going towards a simple cremation, but the rest is for the funeral services to give him a proper Christian sendoff.

Thank you so, so much in advance.

With all my love,

Kimberly Mitchell