At an Unexpected Time, Richard Passes Away
So many times over the year incidents would happen and we expected Richard to have a heart attack but when it finally happened, it was not expected at all!
Richard passed away the day before Thanksgiving in 1996, we were at Maria's home in Susanville. He had gotten up to look for something for his sore throat and finally came back. He could not find an aspirin, we were sleeping on the pull-out in the Family Room.
Maria came down and said there was nothing open to buy anything and could he wait till morning? Richard asked me to turn on the TV for him and he could possibly fall asleep. It was about 2:20 AM. A few minutes later I hear this horrible sound and look at Richard and his eyes have rolled back in his head and he is making loud guttural sounds. I think I screamed, "Oh, My God", and called for Maria and Mark. They came down and tried to do something. I can't remember who called the paramedics. I remember walking around and around saying "Oh, My God" several times. The paramedics came and pulled Richard onto the floor and began working on him. His belly was very swollen. They finally decided to take him into the hospital and work on him some more. If they could get a strong enough heartbeat they were going to fly him to Reno, they were all waiting.
Maria's Bishop came to the hospital and gave me a blessing for Richard. He may have eventually gotten into Richard, too, I can't remember. We were all crying, but I had accepted the fact that it was the Lord's will, we finally went in and said goodbye to Richard. I held his head and told him I loved him and that he was a good, good man. It was all so devastating. Everyone around looked so sad and seemed to have such empathy for us. Maria and Mark were so comforting to have with me.
The next two months were a nightmare. All the boxes of business were in the garage. My arms have just recently stopped aching from moving them up and down and going through them trying to figure out what to do and what needed to be done.
Funeral, December 3, 1996
This is the program. Not on the list of speakers was Robert Wells, Richard's cousin and a Seventy. He unexpectedly showed up representing Richard's many relatives who could not be there from the Las Vegas area. He gave a powerful talk. All of the funeral proceedings were video taped by Camber's father and are on You Tube on the Janet Anderson Hardy Channel as well as on this blog.
The Relief Society provided a really lovely luncheon after the funeral. Sister Brundage had a lot to do with it. So Nice.
I thought this poem so fitted Richard's Giving Life.
Zack and his family, years later, came and spread Sherry's ashes in a favorite area they had shared together when Zack was just a toddler. He was there, at that place, on Sherry's wishes.
After Richard's father Merlin died, when Richard was 11.
Valko Grandchildren at Christmas.
They were the last grandchildren Richard spent time with.
And now Richard is really resting from all the cares of this Earth. Till we meet again, we will remember.