Merle

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster. On September 28th Merle was taken to the hospital in Kansas with chest pains. he had been in and out recently so we didn't think too much of it. On the morning of the 29th they were talking about transferring him down to Texas so he could be with his oncologist. By noon, Zeb got a call that things had taken a turn for the worst and we needed to go. I was up in Greeley when Zeb called to tell me the news. We quickly wrapped up our hair appointments and headed to Denver while Zeb began packing. As soon as we got there we headed to Kansas. It was a five hour drive and the time seemed to crawl. Zeb continually received updates on Merle's status and it wasn't looking good. We arrived around early evening and felt blessed that he knew we had arrived and were there. As is typical Merle was trying to crack jokes but admitted he was not feeling well. He didn't look well and was in and out of consciousness due to the medicine they had him on. It was extremely hard for the girls to see their Grandpa this way. My sweet Keara wears her heart on her sleeve and cried until there were no tears. Kailei internalizes her thoughts and pain and remained stoic for a while. Around midnight I decided to take the girls to the hotel for some sleep and we got a call around 2pm that he had passed. We were heartbroken. It seemed surreal at times. We were however grateful to be there those last few hours. Zeb and his brothers were there with him, as was Phyllis, Sue and Carla who had made the drive. Alva and John, Merle's brothers, we're also there and it was helpful to be surrounded by family. The next week was spent taking care of funeral arrangements, crying, thanking all those that stopped by with condolences, food and flowers.

Merle's funeral was a wonderful tribute to a great man. it was sad but inspiring to see how many lives were touched by this man. he lived his life for the lord and we take heart in knowing he is there with him now.

Please pray for those that survive him that their hearts heal quickly. we find ourselves worrying about Phyllis. it is not right to have to live though something like this twice but we hope she knows how much she is loved and we know the people in Walsh will take good care of her.