Percy

You and I will meet again
When we're least expecting it
One day in some far off place
I will recognize your face
I won't say goodbye my friend
For you and I will meet again
~Tom Petty

I woke up to a very sad email from my husband on Wednesday morning. Our friend Percy passed away. Percy was just sixty-five years old, very recently retired and adjusting to life without the employment he loved until forced out by a cruel employer. On Tuesday Percy decided to enjoy the beautiful spring weather on the golf course. When he didn't return home, a family member went to look for him. He was in the parking lot of the golf club, dead at the wheel of his car. In seemingly perfect health, Percy had a massive heart attack and died instantly. The doctor told his wife that he probably didn't feel a thing.

Percy and his wife Carol are two of the most fundamentally decent people I have ever known. A couple of years ago, they bought a new home in Collingwood so they could live nearer to their daughter and granddaughter, Madeline. Madeline was the apple of her grandfather's eye. She was born with a severe scoliosis and a defective heart and has endured multiple surgeries.

Merv and Percy worked together for many years. Even after Merv left the company, he and Percy continued to meet for lunch regularly. We spent a weekend at their Collingwood home a couple of summers ago. We traveled with them many times on the various work trips we took when Merv and Percy worked together. It was always a relief for me to know they would be there. Not all the wives of Merv's colleagues were very kind or gracious. I could always count on Carol to be a friend.

Tomorrow we will drive to Collingwood to attend the visitation. We will stay overnight so we can also attend the funeral service on Monday morning. The mass will be held at the Catholic church where Percy served as a deacon. He was a man of great faith.

God speed my friend. We will miss you.