We began the month of May with the finish of the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. We then traveled to Red Bay, AL to visit the Tiffin factory to get our warranty service. Little did we know how fast our plans would change.

When we left California in mid April my father had just received a new treatment for his bone cancer and was doing pretty good. His pain was mostly under control and he was home and comfortable. Three weeks later we where racing his cancer back to California. After the factory visit we had traveled to Nashville to check out the music scene when we received a call from my sister. She told us my father had taken a bad turn and that maybe we should head home. He had been admitted to the hospital for pain and was not doing well at all. They had transferred him to a nursing home and all he wanted was to go home. This began our four day trip from Nashville to Southern California. When we arrived he had just been brought home. He died two days later, at home, surrounded by his wife of fifty three years and six of his seven children. His missing daughter Darcie, was already in heaven to greet him having lost her battle with cancer five months before.

The rest of the month passed in a blur as we prepared for the memorial service and helped my mother get things straightened out.

June 2005