My Uncle's Memorial

I just wanted to share this with everyone. It's a post by my cousin about her dad, my Uncle Dave. Much of what she shares resonates with the way I feel about my dad, whose 63rd birthday is in 3 days, and whose death was 4 years ago this March 3. My uncle was an interesting man, one who I wish I had been able to spend more time with.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

To Honor a Father Category: Life
My Dad, David, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at age 68 at
Torrance Memorial Hospital. He was diagnosed 11 days earlier with a very
large and aggressive malignant (cancerous) brain tumor (glioblastoma) - that was
not related to his cancer of 10 years ago. He deteriorated very fast
before our eyes. He had no pain and always seemed at peace. He was
visited by many close friends in his final 2 days. My sister L, my
Mom, and I were with him, and enjoyed some quality time with family and friends
in his final days.A beautiful funeral and vigil services were held
on Thursday, Feb 15th and Friday, Feb 16th. We had over 200 friends
and family members in attendance. We had a private burial on Saturday, Feb
17th at Green Hills Memorial Cemetery in Rancho Palos
Verdes.

Thanks for all of your energy, compassion, love and
support during this time. My family feels blessed with so many great
friends and your show of support.Thanks also to those of you who have reached
out with emails, voice messages, and cards. Your thoughts, words, and
support have been wonderful, and I plan to connect with each of you in the
coming weeks. Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society in
honor of David C. My Dad has been a supporter of ACS since he beat
cancer 10 years ago.

A beautiful memorial video/picture collage can be found at http://obit.lafuneral.com/obit_display.cgi?id=380423&listing=Current

To Honor a Father and Friend
Eulogy by Alisa

We want to thank
each and every one of you for joining us today in this celebration of my
father's life. We are grateful for your love, support and prayers that
have helped Dad and us get through the last few weeks. My Dad's two
sisters, Karen and Cherry, who live on the East Coast were not able to join us
today but they are with us in spirit.

My Dad was not only my father
but also my dear friend. Whenever I had an hour to spare in my busy life,
I loved talking to my Dad and talking about some of our favorite topics like
everyday life, religion, social issues, travel, finances, dreams, relationships,
nurturing our positive attitudes and more. We shared an open mind and we
always looked at life and challenges from many perspectives.

My Dad truly embraced life – even more in his last 10 years after
he endured cancer treatments and beat it. He used his positive attitude to
deal with the surgery, radiation treatments and recovery. We are all
grateful that he retired 9 and a half years ago and truly embraced his last
decade of life. He often enjoyed walks on the beach, our vacation home in
Lake Arrowhead, lunch overlooking the water with good friends and family,
Starbucks with a good book and international travel. We would often talk
about the many lessons that he learned in his journey through life.

One great example of my Dad's ability to truly embrace life is
when he and my Mother were traveling in New Zealand. At 62 years old, my
Dad decided to try bungy jumping for the first time at the world's first bungy –
Kawarau Bridge. He stood in line in the cold and wind for hours while he
witnessed nervous younger people half his age bungy jump. My Dad said that
he only felt excitement for this challenge. He talked about this
incredibly fun experience every chance he had for the next few years. You
could feel the passion and energy in his voice about this unforgettable
experience.

My Dad also had a great sense of humor and loved a
bargain. Lately, we have discovered that it was my Dad's turn to pay for
the next lunch or dinner with many friends. We are wondering if this was
an accident or just careful planning on my Dad's part. While preparing for
this beautiful celebration of life for my father, we didn't spare any
expense. We also wondered what my Dad would say if he was still alive and
knew how much money we spent on his funeral. He might well have a heart
attack on the spot.

Thankfully, this way of life for my family
helped my parents enjoy many beautiful vacations and cruises around the
world. His bargain hunting skills will be carried on through his loving
wife Marie who still loves to visit a great garage sale now and
then.

We will all remember Dave's sense of humor, stimulating
conversations, his friendship, his advice, his passion for life, his love of the
water, his healthy eating, his love of travel, his love for his wife and
daughters, and his love for his grandchildren and extended family.

I would like to leave you with a quote from one of my Dad's favorite
songs.
"Let there be Peace on Earth and Let it Begin with
me!"

We love you Dad!!