Condolence From: Melinda Glover (Daughter)
Condolence: A Tribute to My Dad, our Papa Bear
As I started to write this tribute I struggled with what to say. Not because I couldn’t think of anything but because so much came to mind- so many precious memories, so many things that were great and special about him, so many ways in which he touched the lives of not just us, his family, but everyone who knew him. There is so much that can be said about my Dad… where do I start?
Dad was born on Bragg’s Island on May 29th 1950 to Gilbert and Maggie Glover. They moved up off the island to Hare Bay when Dad was 6 years old, where he grew up and met the love of his life, my mom Alice, at the age of 16. Mom and Dad married in 1968 and after 10 years of waiting and praying they finally became parents to me in 1979 and then my sister Melissa just 11 months later. Dad often told us how they had prayed for the Lord to give them a child and he doubly blessed them when He gave them “his girls”. As much as he loved his girls Dad always wanted a boy and was thrilled when he became “Poppy” to his first grandson Keenan in 1998. He would later become a grandfather 3 more times to his little princess Haley and 2 more of Poppy’s boys Kaleb and Hayden. They were their grandfather’s treasures.
Dad was the strongest man I have ever known, both physically and emotionally. We feared nothing if Dad was there because we believed he could wrestle a bear if he needed to. In fact, we lovingly called him Papa Bear, and in the past couple of years I’m pretty sure we use that name more than any other. It was very fitting considering he was such a big, strong man. One of my fondest memories of my childhood is how during thunder storms dad would get out his guitar, bring a chair into our room and play and sing to drown out the sound of the thunder. As the thunder grew louder so did his voice and he would sing one hymn after another until the storm had passed. Dad saw us through many storms over the years, and even as he battled storms of his own he always wanted to make sure we were ok. Even in the last few days of his life, as Mom, Melissa and I sat at his bedside, he would give us the scatter smile, give Mom a scatter kiss and reach to put his arms around her, and when we would tell him we loved him, although he struggled to respond, we would ask “Do you love me?” He would whisper “A little bit” and try to smile. This was his way in telling us that he loved us more than anything. We didn’t need a lot of words to tell us that.
Everyone in dads life was special to him in their own way and he loved to see visitors coming, often telling them to “sit down and tell me all you knows, it won’t take long” with that mischievous grin. That grin gave him away many times. When you would see it you just knew that he was thinking up something witty to say, like “you’re looking good, but I’m not saying you’re good looking”. He loved for you to sit and talk a while, to have a cup of tea, to reminisce about the old days, and talk about all the latest developments here on the island.
Dad’s health began to fail him at a young age and over the years he endured one ailment after another. He faced each one with courage and seldom complained. No matter how sick or how much pain he was in if anyone asked him how he was feeling he would reply “not too bad.” This courage, we know, came from his firm belief in God. His remedy for all illnesses was Prayer. When Melissa and I were little whenever we came down with something, whether it be an ear ache, flu, stomach bug, the first thing Dad and Mom would do was pray, sitting on our bed and holding our hand, or kneeling next to it. It was his faith that saw him through right up until his last breath. He didn’t fear death for he knew that once he left this world he would be with the Lord. In fact, just a few weeks ago when he first went into the hospital he told us that he was soon going home, and that, as he often said “absent from the body is present with the lord which is far greater.”
Dad first came here to the Pentecost church in Hare Bay in 1967 when he met his future wife, Alice, and she invited him out to Sunday school. This would be the beginning of his lifelong relationship with God and it was this relationship, and his faith in the Lord, that saw Dad through over the years. From there he began to attend church regularly and played the guitar and sang in church for decades until his health no long allowed him to. Dad was passionate about his beliefs and could be often heard saying that he was “saved by grace”. “I was nobody special” he would tell us, “but I was saved by his grace.”
In the last couple of years dad has battled Alzheimer’s disease and he lost a lot of his memories and abilities, but while his mind and body were deteriorating his heart only seemed to flourish. Being the big tough guy that he was, he never was one to wear his heart on his sleeve and while he made sure we knew that he loved us all, he wasn’t as sappy as us girls. This changed a lot in the last couple of years. He became far more affectionate and open, more loving and emotional, and even though we knew what lay ahead as the years passed by far too quickly, they were some of the best years of our life together as a family. Whenever we would walk in the door and give him a big hug and kiss he would beam. He loved to see his grandchildren coming through the door, and would call them into his room and say “sit down lover and talk to poppy” and ask them, depending on which grandchild it was, how school was going, did they have any volleyball games lately or any tests, how work was going, and always tell them “Pop loves ya you know” and “be good, but if you can’t be good be as good as you can be” before they left.
As many of you know, Dad was just a little bit pampered. We all doted on him- Mom, Melissa and I, our kids, and his homecare workers Lucy and Sheri- and he loved every minute of it. Mom tended to his every need and took care of him right up until the end. She is an amazing woman who went above and beyond to care for him and over the past couple of years we watched them fall in love all over again. They were, once again, sweethearts, and it was beautiful to witness as they reclaimed the love that had brought them together. This past fall they decided they were going to make a quilt for Dad to use while he was in his recliner chair. Dad helped Mom match up all the different coloured pieces of fabric, cleaned up the edges and tidied them up, and as they put the blocks together they found a piece of fabric with two love birds on it. Dad said that was him and her and told her to put that one right in the middle and write on it “Harry and Alice, Love forever” which she did. Dad spent his last hours wrapped in that quilt, and in their love and in ours.
We listened to a song here at the church a couple days ago during visitation that said “if you could see me now, I am standing tall” and while those words cut to my very core, I am so happy to know that they are true. You are standing tall now Dad my love. Your limbs are straight and strong again. Your mind is clear, your memory sharp and your body no longer in pain. And although we can’t see you now, our hearts can feel and our minds can imagine that you are, in fact, standing tall. You fought so hard for so long and now your fight is over and you are in a far better place. I know that as I held your hand as you left this world, Jesus took your hand in heaven where you will stand tall, strong and healthy and walk with Him.
While my heart breaks as you leave us, I thank God that he answered your prayers for a child those many years ago and made me and Melissa your daughters. Thank you dad, for always being there for us, for never losing faith in us, for sharing in all our highs and lows, for loving us unconditionally. It was a privilege to help care for you these past couple of years. It was an honor to be your daughter. We love you Dad- your daughters, your wife, your grandchildren- and your memory will live on in our hearts, in our memories and stories, forever.
Saturday March 03, 2018
Condolence From: Fern Bath
Condolence: Dear Alice and family,
I was so sorry to hear about the passing of your beloved husband, also a father and grandfather and we know there will be many difficult and challenging days ahead, as we walk through this journey together. I TOO am missing a beloved husband and son, just several months apart. We know there is rejoicing in heaven and not more suffering, but it is not easy being still here on this earth without them, so we pray for God''s strength for all of you at this time.
LOVE and God's PEACE to you at this time.
Sister Fern Bath, (Pastor LES Bath in heaven) and son Timothy
Wednesday February 28, 2018
