Goodbye, Papa

My father died on Jan. 24th. after a three year battle with cancer. We squeezed a lot of 'quality' time into those three years. He died at home surrounded by family. While he died, he was wearing a pair of socks that I made for him. He and Ma said they were the most comfy socks he had.

Here he is at his 75th birthday in October,

in his hand knit
sweater vest in November,

and at our last Christmas together.

Papa was very involved in state-wide education and our roles as citizens. He even volunteered, with my mom, as volunteers to work in the voting booths.

He viewed the right to vote as a privilege, no matter how small one vote seems to be. Our votes do add up, like knit stitches which turn into a sweater vest. Many other people in the world don't have this privilege.

You've taught us well, Papa. Goodbye.