Losing A Friend (UPDATE)

For those of you who have asked:

Visitation for Steve will be Thursday August 20th from 4:00 - 7:00 PM and Friday August 21st from, 9:30 - 10:30 AM at The Sheridan Funeral Home - 222 S. Columbus St. - Lancaster, OH 43130

The Memorial Service will follow Friday at 10:30 AM - at The Sheridan Funeral Home.

As we get older it is inevitable that we start to have death creep into our lives as we say good-by to family and acquaintances. Losing family leaves a mark to be sure, although some might argue with that depending on their situation. When someone related to a friend passes away, you feel bad for your friend mostly no matter how well you might have known the person that died. There isn't that emotional attachment that gets to you and you're able to handle it much easier.

Losing a friend is different. Truth be told I never knew that it was until Tuesday night when I got a call from our friend Jenny Romine telling us that her husband, and my friend, Steve passed away unexpectedly. He would have been seventy-four next Monday.

Steve has been going through some tough times medically this year as doctors were trying to get a circulation issue in his leg straightened out. Just when they thought they had fixed it another problem popped up and back into the hospital he went for more surgery. Ultimately he lost four toes on one foot but the doctors were optimistic that he would be able to lead a reasonably normal life that would include him being able to play golf and most importantly, go on his boat. In fact they were starting to fit him with a prosthetists to accomplish this.

Unfortunately, beginning Sunday he started to lose his battle and ultimately succumbed Tuesday night. I have to admit it has hit me pretty hard. Actually, it has put me in shock as I'm still trying to process how in the world this all happened. I just can't believe that he is gone, it doesn't seem possible.

Here we are, a lifetime ago it seems, celebrating another victory for the Dream Team down in Florida. We did a lot of celebrating Steve and I. Not just from golf victories, but because of life itself. Steve believed it was always a good time to have a good time and I was happy to join him when the mood hit him.

Before life got in the way, visiting he and Jenny at their lake house on Buckeye Lake in Ohio was a summer ritual. We could only handle three days maximum before our livers cried out for help and we had to break up the party and return to real life. But man those three days...

I won't bore you with stories from the years of our friendship, we can do that another time. Today this is about how it feels to lose a close friend for the first time in your life, my life, and how it slaps you in the face with a sobering moment of realization that we are all on borrowed time. I like to say that death is undefeated and we are all going to go eventually, but man when it hits close to you it makes it all very real.

Here is the last time I shared a meal with Jenny and Steve as we stopped for lunch on the way to the airport after spending a few days with them for his seventieth birthday four August's ago. It was a successful trip. Nobody got hurt and we all made it home safely.

Losing someone your age is an eye opener and it gives you pause. It also is a reminder to make sure that you stay in touch with those close to you because we are all day to day.

Good-Bye my friend.