Lost my dad today

My dad passed away this morning after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Throughout this whole experience, while dealing with my mom's death a couple years back, and during my divorce before that, I always found comfort reading the boards here. Though I mostly lurk in the corners I really do feel like we're all part of something special here. Thanks all for being some of the coolest people around.

Back when my dad could no longer stay at home it was my sad task to take him to the ER for "observation" so he could then be transported to a nursing home. It was something he was adamantly against and I hated to have to do it but it had to be done. I took a beautiful, sunny day off from work and took him for a long ride in my ratty, old Miata. One of the worst days of my life but I have fond memories sharing part of that beautiful day with my dad in a fun little car. It was the last proper ride he ever took. I guess Miata really is the answer....

Thanks dad for introducing me to Fiats, teaching me how to turn a wrench (two things that go together), and showing me that two guys with rudimentary tools and a lot of hard work and ingenuity can build a tube frame racecar from scratch. We learned a lot, had even more fun, and made enough memories to last multiple lifetimes. Thanks for everything dad. And I forgive you for the Fiat thing. lol

Thanks to the GRM family for letting me express my feelings.

Bob

I don't have any good words for you, but we are here...

Joey

That sucks. I lost mine six years ago, and I still see things change and think "Dad would love to see this."

Good Luck.

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. Sounds like he was a special guy that left you with some great memories. Our thoughts and best wishes are with you.

Tom

So sorry to hear. My thoughts and prayers are with you...

-Matthew

Very sorry to hear that. Let's hope we can continue to help a little in the future, too.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'm sorry to hear that. My grandpa says that every time he buys a new car, he still wants to call his dad first.

Sorry to hear of your loss. My deepest sympathies.

I lost my father in 1997, so I know that nothing I can say can really ease the pain.

I grew up helping my dad restore a 68 mustang, I remember him looking at miata's, but he decided on getting a mustang to restore so he could enjoy it with the family (ended up finding his 2nd car that he had sold and we restored it). I was 12 when he passed away and might not have been as interested in cars then as I have become now. Beginning in highschool I got into cars and ended up building on the rudiments that I had learned from him. I largely ended up teaching myself, gaining courage from magazines and reading about others doing it. I brought my mom to my first several autocrosses and she had the realization that if my dad were there he would have been as into it as I have become.

There comes a time when you can have these realizations and not be saddened that they are not there, but smile in fondness of the memories you have and imagining that they were there to share it with them. It takes time, but it comes eventually.

I'm sorry to hear that. I can't imagine what you are going through. Our thoughts are with you and you family.

I'm sorry for your and your family's loss. Take it day by day, one step at a time. And don't try to rush the healing. It will feel better one day. It's been over 20 yrs. and I still get memories and see little things to make me remember my Dad. And sometimes those memories hurt alittle. But I feel good knowing that he did such a good job preparing me for life. And as much as it hurts sometimes, I feel proud that I had a chance to be his son. And it makes me smile.

Thank you for letting us know. And don't hesitate to ask if you need anything.

I can't imagine how you're feeling (knock wood), and I can't adequately express my sympathy.

Hang in there, man.

I wish you peace and strength, Bob.

God bless you in your time of need.

Sorry to hear about your loss. It's nice that our community has become more than just car talk. Thanks, everyone.

Having recently suffered through a tragic loss in my own family, I can definitely relate. correction, we havent suffered through it, its something that you never really get "through" you just find ways to work around it i guess. I still miss my father, and i lost him when i was only 8 years old. Ive been spending my little bit of spare time sorting through pictures lately. Ive got some of my nephews computer hard drives and he has thousands of digital pictures on there (almost seven thousand so far, the kid loved to take pictures!) from parties, of his daughter, friends and family. I suffer the whole emotional range as im sorting through it , but there is no doubt he made his mark on the world in the short time he was here, and i am proud to have had such a great nephew.

I guess my point is,corny as it may sound, they never really leave us. a part of them will always exist in those who loved them, and thats a pretty precious gift.

I'll have a beverage in your fathers honor this weekend, and maybe hell keep an eye out for my nephew and give him a slap on the head for me...

It's been 13 years since I lost my father, and still every time I pick up a wrench (lots of them used to be his) I think about him and everything he taught me. I wish I'd gotten the other half (or more) of the knowledge that I missed or ignored before I lost him.

My condolences to you and your family. My thoughts are with you.

Nicely written Bob. I am glad for you that you got to take him on that final ride in the Miata. I hope I can do the same with my dad when his time comes. It'll probably be in his Mustang.

I'm also glad for you that you were able to go with him down the road of his death. So the parting was not bitter, kind words were not unsaid. It is with love and cherished memories that you can remember him and tell him to others.

You are indeed a lucky man for it.

I'm sorry for your loss. I lost my dad 10 years ago. I still think about him daily.

I am also sorry to hear of your loss. It sounds as if your father (like mine) was one of your best friends which makes it especially hard. With my parents getting older and more frail I make it a point to always make time for them and let them know that they are loved.

This past Saturday I went to a memorial service for a woman who had dealt with Alzheimer's for over 8 years. To her husband and 5 daughters it was bittersweet as she had struggled greatly the past year. Thankfully they had all been able to be together near the end and they celebrated her and her life with stories of her loves and adventures.

Keep the memories of your time together as a celebration of his life and his influence on you and pass that love to those around you. Even if it may be a love of Fiats...

I wish you peace of mind during this time.

Five years for me since my dad passed, and like the other posters here, I still think about him daily. Nice thing about that is the way those thoughts have gradually moved away from focusing on what I think of as "final Dad"--who was truly just a very ill shell of the man he used to be--so that now the Dad of my daily thoughts is, I think, the essence of who he was. (And still is, for me and others who loved him.) I take real comfort in my mental sharings with him.

I know right now the pain of losing him is sharp, but know that you really will find him standing alongside you whenever you most need it. And that we're here in the meantime.

Margie

Bob:

I know what you are going through. I lost my Dad in July. Lots of peeps here on the board reached out with prayers and condolences. And I am very thankful for the notes and emails (even the odd ones ). I made it a point to turn a wrench at least once a week as that's one of the few things we had in common.

Just know that we are here if you ever need to talk, vent, or whatever . . .

Prayers and condolences for you and the fam.

I am very sorry about your loss. I don't know if you are a person of faith but I will say a prayer tonight for you and your family and have a cold in his memory.

A song to make you cry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW7xR7WkyTU