My Dad had been unwell with chest pains when he was admitted to our local hospital the previous week. (Dad had a history of coronary artery disease since 1985.) Five days later, he suffered a heart attack1 and died that Monday morning; he was 68 years old. His doctor was with him, but none of us (my mother, my brother or I) were there because of the early hour and the suddenness of the attack.
I asked Mom if she’d let me compose the obituary; she agreed. I prepared one for our town’s weekly newspaper (seen here)2 and one for The Daily Press of Timmins, Ontario, where our family lived from 1958 to 1979.
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| Maurice Belair obituary, 1996. |
Sources:
1. Maurice Belair, Medical Certification of Death, 1996; Fraser Canyon Hospital, Hope, British Columbia; photocopy supplied May 1996 to Yvonne Demoskoff, Hope, British Columbia. Dr. D. Duke, Maurice’s physician, completed and signed the medical certificate, and allowed a photocopy of the document to be made for Maurice’s daughter Yvonne.
2. “Maurice Belair”, obituary, The Standard (Hope, British Columbia), Thursday, May 9, 1996, p. 16.
Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.
A lovely obituary and such a comforting thing to do and ease the burden for your mother. At times like this it's so hard. My father passed unexpectedly too, and most of our close loved ones made it to the hospital, except for me, his only living daughter, where rush hour traffic delayed me rushing from work.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen, for such a thoughtful comment. How sad it is to not be able to be with our loved ones at their passing.
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