..who I named after my Dad. It was sweet to watch him hold my son as an infant. My Dad had advanced Parkinson’s Disease (he’d been afflicted for 15+ yrs) and so when he held my son in his hands he had this gentle, natural rocking motion from the Parkinson’s that would put my son to sleep in like 2 mins or less.

Just before my Dad passed he had a recurrence of Bladder Cancer and asked for a priesthood blessing. It was quite an experience for me, first time I’d ever blessed someone in a life/death situation like that and in the blessing Heavenly Father communicated that he had just enough time to get his family together one last time. I’ve never seen my Dad so motivated in my life. He bought plane tickets for my 5 siblings and their spouses who lived in the lower 48 to come to Alaska that next week. My brother from Arizona was the last one to arrive (5 days after the blessing) in Alaska and my Dad passed away in his sleep that night. True to his blessing my Dad had time with each of his children before he passed.

His enthusiasm, excitement and motivation reminded me of the way I felt when I had finally decided (after screwing around for a couple of years) to get my life together and go on a mission. Once I had met with my bishop it was all I could think about and I couldn’t get to the MTC fast enough. My Dad was so ready and didn’t waste any time. It was a very peaceful and spiritual experience to watch him. It took away any fear or uncertainty that I had felt towards death.