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Such a Loss

8/1/2012

1 Comment

 
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My wonderful friend -- and a wonderful man -- Gary Walling.
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

I don’t usually cry when I see a box of Detroit Tigers animal cookies, but this box of Detroit Tigers animal cookies was a souvenir for my amazing friend Gary Walling—and my amazing friend Gary Walling died while we were on vacation in Michigan.

I had no idea until this morning, when I saw Gary’s obituary in the paper while I was riding the train to work. (Now that I spend time at the Soldiers Home, I also spend time checking the obituaries.) Gary had died one week earlier, on July 17. He was 70. (I never knew that before.)

As soon as I got off the train, I called Gary’s friend Doreen, his longtime companion and an extraordinary friend of the Soldiers Home. She said Gary had been in the hospital earlier but had come back home. She saw him Monday night; Tuesday morning, he awakened and passed away. Doreen is a strong, resilient woman who has been through a lot. She assured me she’d be OK.

But I hadn’t seen Gary my last few visits. I had knocked on his door a few times, but he never was there.

Gary was one of my favorite people anywhere—one of the wisest and smartest men I’ve ever met. I hadn’t known he was declining. I hadn’t known he was dying. I hadn’t said goodbye.

Gary’s death has hit me hard. My son and I were in Michigan for three weeks, and it flew by like a minute and a half. Gary was here when we left and gone when we got back—70 years gone like half an hour. Time, I am reminded once again, is so short—and so very precious.

1 Comment
Sandra Knorr
11/12/2012 11:39:44 am

Your writing brings the events to life. Your love and compassion
resonates so vividly in the blogs. I admire all your efforts to show love to the people of Soldiers Home. You give them hope and you let them know you love them. A tender touch, a warm smile given by you makes life worth living. You are an extension of God's amazing love.

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    Author
    My name is Sandy Deneau Dunham. I'm a journalist who’s worked at The Phoenix Gazette, The (Tacoma) News Tribune,  The Seattle Times, Town Hall Seattle and Pacific Lutheran University. I'm now back at The Seattle Times, as associate editor of its gorgeously glossy Pacific NW magazine. I've been a volunteer at the Washington Soldiers Home and Colony in Orting, Washington, since January 2009, and I am still a remedial videographer.   

     

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