In Memorium

I haven't been here to blog this past week as many of you know. For those of you that do not know why my blog has been silent, last Sunday our family suffered a great loss. My sisters husband Dave died unexpectedly and suddenly during the night. The only good point was that he died in his sleep, at home, in his own bed next to the woman he loved for a little over 42 years.
His services were held this past Thursday and Friday. Thursday was the wake and Friday morning a memorial service in his honor. This was the best service I have ever attended. You laughed as hard as you cried - it was just beautiful. David was so widely known in our community and no one ever, ever had a bad word to say about him.
The amount of people that came to the wake was unbelievable and the memorial service was packed as well. That day we celebrated the life of and the loss of a man I looked at as my brother and not my brother (in-law). We are all still reeling from this loss. Life goes on, but life is not the same.
Here is the tribute I wrote about Dave.

No one in this world can possibly know when their time on this earth is up – that moment when they pass from human being to a soul like energy. This past Sunday we lost a man, a husband, a father, a grandfather, an uncle, a brother and as Bruce Lawton so aptly put it, “A Native Son”.

Had my sister not needed a repair on her car back in 1972, she and Dave may never have met. I can remember thinking when she told me who it was that had asked her out on a date, -  “that guy?” Dave had longer hair, a beard and he rode a motorcycle and was a car mechanic. He was just not the type of guy I thought my sister would be attracted to. Lucky for her though, she looked past the long hair, the beard, and the motor cycle riding man and discovered the love of her life. They dated and 3 months later they were married and the marriage lasted 42 years.

What I gained, you couldn’t put a price tag on. I got to meet and be a part of the life of one of the greatest guys on the planet. Dave was like the brother I never had. He introduced me into his world of Boston Celtics, Corvettes and Motor Cycles.  He showed me all about the kind of man I had hoped to meet myself one day.

There are so many words that describe Dave: kind, gentle, sincere, stubborn, funny, witty and opinionated. Generous to a fault and thinking of others before himself was trademark Dave Morrow.

He was the KING of one-liners and throughout his life had a host of classic expressions.

Many years ago now when I was hired at their company Cable Prep, Dave’s German Shepherd Barney would come to work daily. At lunch time Barney would wait for someone to give him something off their plate. I remember that Dave threw Barney a treat and it landed on the floor and Dave shouted out to Barney – “Floor D’oeuvres”.  That was one of the classics I remember and I know there were hundreds more.

Always and forever enjoying a lager or a “driver” with friends, Dave was the life of the party. In fact he was the party. But later in life Dave settled into the best roles of his life. Dave became the husband and best friend to my sister Debby and the most incredible father to his daughters, Kate and Mandy.  Along came two beautiful children, Cullen David and Quinn Amelia and it was so easy for Dave to transition into the role of “Papa” – the grandfather of Mandy and Jared’s two children.

What some of you may not know is how tirelessly Dave and Debby worked for the Shoreline Soup Kitchens delivering meals to those in need in the area and their generosity to the Connecticut Food Bank. Both of these causes were near and dear to their hearts and they did it together as a team.

This is just one of the thousands of things my sister will miss because Dave is no longer physically here. But I whole heartedly believe his soul will be with his family and he will continue to be a strong presence in their lives, guiding them from the other side.

Unfortunately for us Dave is gone and we won’t get to see those sparkling eyes, or hear that laugh of his.  But what we have are great memories. Dave helped so many of us have great memories. Memories from childhood, from high school years, from the years after he and Deb married – so many memories. I don’t think I ever heard Dave Morrow speak ill of anyone and I have never heard any unkind word when someone spoke about him.

Today we can only imagine that Dave is looking down at us and can see how many lives he has affected. We can also imagine that when he passed there were a couple of buddies waiting for him: those he was close to while he was here. I think you all know that I am talking about Mark Rice and Jack Watrous.

So Dave I want to tell you I’ll love you forever and until we meet again, I will keep my promise.