Kim’s Mom was the first to go, passing away in August 2019 after a long battle with Reynaud’s and resulting kidney disease. Then Kim followed in December 2020 after her battle with pancreatic cancer. Now Kim’s dad has left us unexpectedly yesterday morning, adding 2021 to the series of years decimating Kim’s family.
After Joan passed, Ron and Kim – and, when I wasn’t working, I – would go to Mass on Sunday, and then visit Joan’s grave. Ron would go every Sunday whether one or both of us could accompany or not. He would sometimes go during the week when he felt lonely for her.
After Kim left us, it was Ron and me, every Sunday. Sometimes he’d drive, most times I would. As time went by, he would simply remain in the truck why I would tend to the graves since his knees were giving him so much trouble. He’d still go midweek on his own to visit the graves of his wife and his youngest daughter, my wife.
Surgery was performed on his most troublesome knee that was supposed to alleviate the issues he was experiencing that kept him in the car. Instead of alleviating them, the surgery made the pain so much worse that he was moved to assisted living to recuperate after insurance wouldn’t fund rehab anymore. The last time I saw Ron in person was two Sundays prior to that surgery, mid-May. He would call me, usually on Monday to thank me for taking care of Mom’s and Kim’s grave, tell me a bit about how he was doing, and wrap up with “OK, Tiger – I’ll talk to you later.” And I always told him I loved him, and he would tell me “we love you, too” in answer for both him and Mom.
Two calls ago, he was in a very bad emotional state, telling me how much he missed going to see Kim and Mom with me, and how much he missed both of them. The next time I talked to him, he sounded very much like his old self – energetic, quick to tease, laughing. And now he’s gone and we don’t know why. It’s as if someone simply flipped a switch.
And there will be another grave to tend in the little plot where Kim and Joan now rest.