Grief has been on my mind this week as we learned of the brief illness and death of our Creston neighbor Bill Taylor. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in mid-October and passed away Friday at age 55. Joni and Bill with children Colby and Jenna lived across the street from us on the west side of Creston. Bill grew up in the area - a Diagonal kid. Look it up. It's got to be one of the smallest high schools in Iowa now.
Bill has been a fixture at the excellent community college in town - coaching and more recently as an administrator. I'm certain his coaching chops also extended to Colby and Jenna's traveling basketball teams. Both of them had/have awesome college basketball careers at Iowa colleges. I've seen young people's comments on Facebook and other sites - "Bill took extra time to work with me." And "Bill sent me a note of encouragement after the game and I still have it today"
And now...Bill is gone too soon. The Creston community, the Southwestern Community College community and beyond to his extended community of athletes and students he has impacted will surround this family with love. They will help bear the mantle of grief, as much as they are able to. But then comes the really tough stuff. My heart goes out to them and to their extended families. Your prayers are appreciated.
This time of year is always one of grief and fond memories for our family. It's the anniversary of when we lost our special Bolder - my sister Cindy's husband, in 2012. He had a larger than life personality. Cindy is doing great - newly retired and planning a few trips. Their son Colby manages El Sabor, a restaurant in Vail. It's amazing how much he can be like Bolder at times! We love hanging out with both of them. They miss Boldie every day. Here's to you oldie moldie Boldie!
Do you have anything that happens, that you see, that you feel is a sign from a loved one that has passed on? For our son Patrick, who died at ages 6 days of a heart problem, it's usually something in nature. But for my dad, it's dropped ice cubes. He couldn't get ice at home without dropping at least one cube (icemaker days - not the dreadful ice trays). Our present icemaker helps me to remember Dad often.
