‍It all started with a huge lump protruding from his throat.  I insisted that Grandma take Grandpa to the doctor. He had been falling a lot too. Grandpa was diagnosed with having Lymphoma – a kind of cancer that infects the lymphatic system.  The doctors were not sure how much of his body had been affected or what stage the cancer had progressed to.  Grandma took him home and continued to take care of him.  After doing the necessary blood work and lab tests, the doctors discovered that the lymphoma was very advanced and all throughout his body. The doctors attempted to put Grandpa on chemotherapy.  However, Grandpa’s health started to go. One night, I got a call in the middle of the night – Grandpa had fallen again and Grandma could not get him up.  The ambulance was on it’s way.  I met Grandma and Grandpa at the hospital.  Grandpa was getting worse.  He did go home a few days later.  He was on a nicotine patch and had been stabilized somewhat. We talked to his doctor about his options.  The doctor felt that, honestly, stage 4 cancer was going to be very hard to come back from even with the chemotherapy.  He suggested we put him on hospice. Hospice is when a loved one goes home and is treated by a nurse.  Usually, it is the last step before a person dies. I wanted another option.  I wanted Grandpa to get more tests and to get restabilized in the hospital.  The doctor said we could try that. The folks in the hospital were not happy to deal with Grandpa.  He was very sick and they did not feel that anymore tests would help him. Some of the cancer cells started to affect his brain and Grandpa became very agitated.  In the end, we took him home and started getting set up on hospice. Grandpa lived for about seven days after we brought him home.  I took off work and we (Grandma, Neighbor Alan and my uncle Bob) took care of him around the clock. Grandpa died at around 7:30 in the morning on January 29th, 2015. Grandma was holding his hand as he took his last breath. I called both of your brothers and informed them of Grandpa’s passing at around 9 am that same day.   The next several hours and days were filled with getting the coroner to pick up the body, arranging for his cremation and the death certificate. I also arranged for an obituary in the Daily Press Newspaper. Your brothers and you both were mentioned as surviving loved ones. We had a memorial service for Grandpa a few months later.  Grandma just could not face it for a while.  Grandma has had a very hard time with this.  She very much misses her sweetheart, best friend and husband of forty seven years. I miss him too.  He was one of the best men I ever knew and he’s a hard act to follow.  How could I ever find a man as great as Grandpa? Today would have been his seventy fifth birthday. Happy Birthday in Heaven Grandpa!  We love you so much!