The Grief Journey

On July 15th, 2026, my dear father passed away.

He was my first love, my defender and my safety.

I didn’t get along with my mother growing up, so my father fulfilled both roles for me. He taught me everything from changing a tire to how to file taxes.

He loved me unconditionally.

He was the mediator, the peacemaker, the strongest man I knew.

His lifetime of service to his family, profession and community are the foundations of a legacy that will honour him forever.

I am, right now, stuck in the anger phase of grief.

This is NOT how it was supposed to go.

My mother has Alzheimer’s and end-stage kidney disease. Dad was, comparatively, healthy.

In the last year he had several “drop attacks” in which he sustained concussions and injuries requiring stitches and hospital stays.

During the second last hospital stay, he took my hands and told me “Everything is going to be all right.”

In the last hospitalization, I held his hand while he took a nap. I told him that I loved him and he told me he loved me too. My father was not an emotional man, and hearing this made me truly feel like everything was going to be all right.

Weeks later he took a turn that meant days, not weeks. But that changed quickly and after everyone left, he transitioned. He didn’t want to have any of children witness his passing.

His celebration of life was August 2, 2026. It was a difficult day, but the highlight for me was my four children were together again after many years of not seeing each other.

Love letters from my Dad to my Mum were found and it was a gift to read his lines of how much he loved my mother, funny bits included. It put a beautiful end to a difficult day.

Thank you to our entire community for showing up to support our family and honour my Dad.