Here is the letter I sent to our friends and family yesterday.
Dear friends and family,
My sweetheart has died. He won the first few innings of his battle with esophagus cancer, but the opposing team came back to take the game on April 28th, 2011 at 7:40 am. We were visiting Ed’s sister Lynne and brother-in-law Russ at their home in Phoenix, AZ, when he took a sudden turn for the worse.
His life was all about relationships. He made sure that our children, Neal and Deanna, grew up to be the caring, wonderful people that they are. His school friends from Washington High School are still in touch and meet whenever they can. His professional life as a psychology faculty member at Pierce College was filled with deep and lasting friendships as well. Our marriage lasted nearly 39 years, starting in an outdoor ceremony in Papago Park near Phoenix, AZ on June 12, 1972. I can’t imagine the life that stretches ahead of me without us side-by- side.
Ed and I met when he was my Physics lab instructor in 1969 at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Green appointed me lab assistant for Freshman Physics even though I had not yet taken the course. That meant that Ed had to tutor me through the experiments that the class would do on the weekend before the class got to that experiment. We discovered that we were both from the Phoenix area, and attended rival high schools. We began sharing rides to and from Phoenix at Christmas breaks. Our first date was to the San Antonio Zoo, where we tried to sing Simon and Garfunkel’s “At the Zoo” together. We were kindred spirits!
Ed was a passionate collector. He started as a child, with popsicle sticks. His coin collection was the result of collecting for his paper route. His baseball memorabilia collection began with his love of baseball. He could recite baseball statistics as well as any of his friends. He always said it was learning about the objects that made collecting so fascinating.
Deanna is creating a virtual memorial to which all our friends and family can contribute memories. The URL is http://edward.leitner.muchloved.com/. The site is a not-for-profit group.
Ed and I have been lifelong supporters of Planned Parenthood, and he asked that people donate to them in lieu of flowers. If that is a problem for anyone, please donate to any animal support group.
We will be having a celebration of Ed’s life at Surprise Funeral Care in the next week.
Keep smiling,
Pilla
Dear friends and family,
My sweetheart has died. He won the first few innings of his battle with esophagus cancer, but the opposing team came back to take the game on April 28th, 2011 at 7:40 am. We were visiting Ed’s sister Lynne and brother-in-law Russ at their home in Phoenix, AZ, when he took a sudden turn for the worse.
His life was all about relationships. He made sure that our children, Neal and Deanna, grew up to be the caring, wonderful people that they are. His school friends from Washington High School are still in touch and meet whenever they can. His professional life as a psychology faculty member at Pierce College was filled with deep and lasting friendships as well. Our marriage lasted nearly 39 years, starting in an outdoor ceremony in Papago Park near Phoenix, AZ on June 12, 1972. I can’t imagine the life that stretches ahead of me without us side-by- side.
Ed and I met when he was my Physics lab instructor in 1969 at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Green appointed me lab assistant for Freshman Physics even though I had not yet taken the course. That meant that Ed had to tutor me through the experiments that the class would do on the weekend before the class got to that experiment. We discovered that we were both from the Phoenix area, and attended rival high schools. We began sharing rides to and from Phoenix at Christmas breaks. Our first date was to the San Antonio Zoo, where we tried to sing Simon and Garfunkel’s “At the Zoo” together. We were kindred spirits!
Ed was a passionate collector. He started as a child, with popsicle sticks. His coin collection was the result of collecting for his paper route. His baseball memorabilia collection began with his love of baseball. He could recite baseball statistics as well as any of his friends. He always said it was learning about the objects that made collecting so fascinating.
Deanna is creating a virtual memorial to which all our friends and family can contribute memories. The URL is http://edward.leitner.muchloved.com/. The site is a not-for-profit group.
Ed and I have been lifelong supporters of Planned Parenthood, and he asked that people donate to them in lieu of flowers. If that is a problem for anyone, please donate to any animal support group.
We will be having a celebration of Ed’s life at Surprise Funeral Care in the next week.
Keep smiling,
Pilla
I'm so sorry.
ReplyDeleteDear Pilla and Family
ReplyDeleteYou have absolutely no idea who I am however through the wonders of the world wide web I have been following your blog for some time (I think probably since I started trawling the web when my Dad was diagnosed with inoperable bowel cancer)
Anyway, I just wanted to send my condolences to you and your family, and to say that Ed sounded like a lovely, kind and generous man who I'm sure will be sadly missed.
Take Care
Yours
Cheryl Williams-UK
Dear Pilla
ReplyDeleteNot having kept up with the Mac site or blogs lately, I was so shocked and saddened to read your news today and I’m so very sorry for your terrible loss. From what I can gather, Ed was with all his family and looked so happy in those photos, so I’m sure this will bring you some measure of comfort.
Please accept my condolences and deepest sympathy for you and your family. You’ll be in my thoughts over the coming days.
Love
Crystal xx
I was so sad to hear the news at work today! Can't believe that it has happened - I will remember him as a warm and friendly person and are happy that we got to know both him and you. I am glad you managed to meet so many of your family and friends back home. Take care!
ReplyDeleteGro Skog
Dear Pilla,
ReplyDeleteplease accept my heartfelt condolences on the loss of your husband Ed. I met Ed only once, at your party a couple of year ago, but will always remember him as a very warm, friendly, emotional, geniune man. It was an honor to meet and get to know Ed, and I can only imagine how hard losing him must be for you and your family. I wish you a lot of strength, Pilla, a lot of strength...and may your memories of the good times together soften the pain of this terrible loss.
Spot must have been so happy to see her favorite human again...
Alexandra
Thank you all for the notes. Alexandra, I know that Spot loved her favorite human, but even more, Ed loved her. He still teared up when talking about her. Gro, it will be hard to go hiking without him, but the outdoors is where we have to go to remember him best. My two virtual friends, thank you for your kind thoughts. Crystal, you have been a great support during the course of the journey, as you have been to so many others. Stay well!
ReplyDelete