Posted on 07/21/2006 11:43:13 PM PDT by JennysCool
My father died last Thursday.
I certainly do believe it was his own decision. He had suffered his second heart attack about a month ago. He had cleared the hospital in a few days and was dispatched by the doctors to a care facility to get his strength back. He had fabulous care -- including a Filipino nurse he liked especially, who reminded him of his time in the Navy in the 1950s. To get him on his feet, she would come by on her rounds, saying, "Bill, you gotta eat! You gotta get better! We gotta go downtown!"
Even for her, though, that wasn't enough, there at the end. He wouldn't eat a thing. Sent twice back to the hospital for intervenous nutrition and hydration, he would return to the care center still adamant. He would take a few sips from the milkshakes I offered him, carefully fitting the straw between his dentures, but that was all. He was making the effort for me, not for him. I sat long nights in the chair next to his bed, keeping up an endless stream of conversation about the news of the day. He reacted a few times, with a nod or a shake of the head. If I had been Bill O'Reilly, his favorite muckraker, or Sean Hannity, his favorite firebrand, I might have got more of a reaction. But, certainly, not enough to keep him here on the mortal coil.
So, on July 13, 2006, he left us. Same day as Red Buttons. He always loved the "Never got a dinner!" routine Red always broke up the room with during the Dean Martin roasts. He loved Red in "Sayonara." They truly were a pair.
Dad was a joker. His Korean War stories were flat-out funny. He served on the USS Toledo, floating off Korea if needed. Occasionally they were. When the big guns went off, he flinched a bit. He was the ship's weather officer. He was pals with the guys that shot the guns. They didn't warn him.
Dad instructed other officers at the Navy school at Lakehurst, New Jersey, home of the Hindenberg disaster -- some years before, as he would always point out. He wasn't responsible for that one.
He instructed what they used to call "aerographers" in Hawaii and California before being Honorably (or, as he said, "Luckily Honorably") dischargd from the Navy. He joined the Weather Service, married my Mom, and held some pretty distinguished Weather positions in Scottsbluff, Nebraska; Catalina Island, California; Eugene, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah, Elko, Nevada, and Seattle, Washington, where he retired as the Official in Charge of the Weather Service at Sea-Tac Airport.
After his retirement, he happily, returned to Nevada, and wrote Keno. Truly a fabulous game, although it doesn't have a TV show yet.
In his last years, (after Mom died, she would never have allowed it) he had a red convertible, drove above the limit, wore a jaunty driver's cap, and just plain doted on my daughter.
When he passed, he left everything to her, all he had, with me as executor.
I know all of you would have loved him. He was a true American. Bright, tough, funny, and non-PC real.
With the Navy's help, his ashes will be scattered off Hawaii, a place he loved so much.
All of us should remember people like Dad, who served and loved this country, with honor, good humor, and fellowship. Accent on the humor.
Thanks for reading. I tried to make him a Freeper, but he never could figure out how to deal with the computer. He played poker on it, though!
Oh, by the way: His parents named him "Bill," not "William" I think they knew he would be "Just Plain Bill" throughout his life. He reveled in that.
His favorite book was H. Allen Smith's bio of John Barrymore, so I'll echo the title: Good Night, Sweet Prince.
My condolences to the loss of your father and with your sharing of your father's character, he has deserved his place in heaven.
God Bless your Dad and your family. He sounds like a wonder father and man. I lost my Dad back in '78 so I know of your loss. Prayers offered.
THE LAST CHANTEY"~And there was no more sea.~"
Thus said The Lord in the Vault above the Cherubim
Calling to the Angels and the Souls in their degree:"Lo! Earth has passed awayThat Our word may be established shall We gather up the sea?"
On the smoke of Judgment Day.Loud sang the souls of the jolly, jolly mariners:
"Plague upon the hurricane that made us furl and flee!But the war is done between us,Our bones we'll leave the barracout', and God may sink the sea!"
In the deep the Lord hath seen us --Then said the soul of Judas that betrayed Him:
"Lord, hast Thou forgotten Thy covenant with me?How once a year I goAnd Ye take my day of mercy if Ye take away the sea!"
To cool me on the floe?Then said the Angel of the Off-shore Wind:
(He that bits the thunder when the bull-mouthed breakers flee):"I have watch and ward to keepAnd Ye take mine honour from me if Ye take away the sea!"
O'er Thy wonders on the deep,Loud sang the souls of the jolly, jolly mariners:
"Nay, but we were angry, and a hasty folk are we!If we worked the ship togetherAre we babes that we should clamour for a vengeance on the sea?"
Till she foundered in foul weather,Then said the souls of the slaves that men threw overboard:
"Kennelled in the picaroon a weary band were we;But Thy arm was strong to save,And we drowsed the long tides idle till Thy Trumpets tore the sea."
And it touched us on the wave,Then cried the soul of the stout Apostle Paul to God:
"Once we frapped a ship, and she laboured woundily.There were fourteen score of these,When they learned Thy Grace and Glory under Malta by the sea!"
And they blessed Thee on their knees,Loud sang the souls of the jolly, jolly mariners,
Plucking at their harps, and they plucked unhandily:"Our thumbs are rough and tarred,May we lift a Deep-sea Chantey such as seamen use at sea?"
And the tune is something hard --Then said the souls of the gentlemen-adventurers --
Fettered wrist to bar all for red iniquity:"Ho, we revel in our chainsHeave or sink it, leave or drink it, we were masters of the sea!"
O'er the sorrow that was Spain's;Up spake the soul of a gray Gothavn 'speckshioner --
(He that led the flinching in the fleets of fair Dundee):"Oh, the ice-blink white and near,Will Ye whelm them all for wantonness that wallow in the sea?"
And the bowhead breaching clear!Loud sang the souls of the jolly, jolly mariners,
Crying: "Under Heaven, here is neither lead nor lee!Must we sing for evermoreTake back your golden fiddles and we'll beat to open sea!"
On the windless, glassy floor?Then stooped the Lord, and He called the good sea up to Him,
And 'stablished his borders unto all eternity,That such as have no pleasureThey may enter into galleons and serve Him on the sea.
For to praise the Lord by measure,Sun, wind, and cloud shall fail not from the face of it,
Stinging, ringing spindrift, nor the fulmar flying free;
And the ships shall go abroadWho heard the silly sailor-folk and gave them back their sea!
To the Glory of the Lord
. . . and the poem is by Kipling, who loved the sea dearly.
Your father sounds like he was a wonderful man. I'm so sorry for your loss.
Jenny, reading about your father put a smile on my face to offset the tear in my eye. May he rest in peach.
A sad time for you and your family. May God bless all of you and in time replace the sadness with memories of the good times. Based upon your writing all of you certainly seem to have many pleasant memories to cherish.
May he rest in Peace.
You were very fortunate to have him with you as long as you did.
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Please post your replies to JennysCool
Rest in Peace
CPO Bill Anderson
JennysCool, My prayers go up for all who now mourn the passing of Bill Anderson.
Blessings,
trussell
If you want on/off my prayer ping list, please let me know. All requests happily honored.
He sounds like a man most of us would have enjoyed knowing, and you were fortunate to have such a father, and are fortunate to have such wonderful memories of him.
My sympathies for your loss.
Thanks for sharing the memories with us. You and your daughter are truly blessed to have been given such a wonderful father and grandpa.
Sorry about your dad....my thoughts are with you today.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
My mother passed in the same way at just about the same age. She made up her mind--no feeding tubes, no nursing homes and wheelchairs, no "lingering," as she put it--so we honored her wishes. It was so hard, but I do believe that it was better than "lingering."
Beautiful tribute to your beloved father. You have so many wonderful memories of him to treasure always. You should be very, very proud that he raised a marvelous daughter.
You did everything in your power to make him as comfortable as possible as his health declined. May God continue to bless you and keep you strong in the difficult months ahead. The pain will ease, albeit slowly.
Thank you for sharing this. Your father was a great patriot and a wonderful dad. May he rest in peace. And when you see him in your dreams, please tell him I said thanks for his service.
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