While we were all back in Iowa for Kait's graduation, my father passed away in his sleep. He had Parkinson's Disease for about 35 years (which is an amazing length of time for this type of illness), and he finally succumbed to its affects. He was living at the NV State Veterans' Home at the time... a place where he had been for the past 7 years. Prior to that he had been 2 years in the UT State Veterans' Home in Salt Lake City. He had a very strong will in all things, and it carried him through his battle with Parkinson's. He was still participating in events and conversing with others at the Home up until the very end. Although his decline was very gradual, and we all knew it was inevitable, but his passing took everyone by surprise.
One of the few early childhood photos I have of my dad &
one of the more recent photos (3 yrs. ago at Aric & Janille's wedding).
This photo is of my parents and me (about 2-3 yrs. old)... back when we were all skinny.
This is one with his sister, Vella, and his adopted brother, Lou, at our house back in the early 70's.
This is how I remember him most.
Because of the wedding, and that so many who knew him are not around anymore, we chose to have a small private memorial for him at our house the day after Kait & Dustin's wedding. It was a favorite thing of his to have Sourdough Pancakes on the weekend, so that is what we did in his honor. I managed to scan as many photos of him as I could in the couple pre-wedding weeks I had to prepare for this, and we were able to view a DVD as we reminisced.
Good bye Dad... you will be missed
L. Donald Long
13 Feb. 1931 - 28 May, 2010
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