A Good-Bye! to Good Friends!
In life, there are many key moments. The most viscerally touching moments involve the transitions - birth & death. The nicest thing we can do with another soul is to create a life, and right next to that in value, depth, involvement, commitment... is to help someone die. My father died two years ago this time, and I was honored to be there for him. And recently 2 very good friends of mine had the same transition, dying peacefully 11 days apart. Col. Paul & Mary Hanzlik lived a full & happy life, to say the least. Again, I have the honor of being there for them. This time, rather than take care of a surviving spouse, the task is to complete the financial affairs, sell some real estate, "close out the books" as it were... There was no funeral, so we have (as we were ordered by the colonel) planned a Celebration of Life for them. He wrote that he wanted it "short, light-hearted, no tears"... We'll see on Saturday if we can deliver on all three points - my guess is only 2 out of 3...
Paul & Mary never had kids, and the relatives they do have are coming from adjacent states. Some of their local friends are/were known to me, and some were not, except in conversation with Paul & Mary...
An interesting phenomenon has presented itself - all of the folks the were in Paul & Mary's "circle" - these are some very friendly, warm, caring folks! Must be the Iowa roots to many of them... And at the very moment I'm writing these words, an old friend calls... to ask if I can send him a copy of the obit, and anything from our Celebration of Life... I'm thinking Paul & Mary had a hand in that!!
We wear many hats in this profession. Executor is one of the lesser worn hats, but so much is similar to a real estate sale... If anyone reading this has the opportunity to "be there" for a family member, or friend, please do it... It will be one of the most important things you can do for another human being.
