In Memory of My Dad

My father, Gerry C, passed away one year ago today. I miss him terribly.

I wanted to share something my Mom wrote when she was going to a bereavement counseling group. They were asked to share a memento of their loved one with the group. Mom brought my Dad's grey sweater. Here is what she wrote:

Gerry's Grey Sweater

A birthday gift at 17, in 1954 from his Mom and Dad.

Gerry was wearing it when I first met him in 1957.

We married November 26,1960, when he was in the Army.

I traveled to Huntsville Alabama where he was in missile school, along with his civilian clothes. Upon completion of missile school he was sent to Aschaffenburg, Germany where I joined him in August of 1961, two weeks before the Berlin Wall was announced to the world. At that time I was 6 months pregnant. Of course the grey sweater was part of his civilian wardrobe.

Our daughter Kathleen was born on November 26, 1961, our first wedding anniversary. What a beautiful gift from God.

Returning to the States we settled down and for the next 39 years lived in Philadelphia. The grey sweater was packed away somewhere...forgotten.

After Gerry's retirement our plans to move to Texas and be near our daughter and son-in-law came true. Kathy had already been living here for 18 years.

Moving from a 2 story house into an apartment was a challenge. What to keep, what to dispose of? The grey sweater showed up in one of the many boxes we had stored things in. Gerry said to get rid of it...he would never wear it again.

I thought of all the places it had been as part of our lives together and could not part with it.

Well, here it is! My cherished memory, now my hug.