Jules Van de Vyvere died early this morning. He had seemed physically robust at his
birthday party on May 2, but he was upset and restless as we were leaving. He kept looking for the car keys,
wanting to make sure he would be able to drive home from the place where he was. Cathy and Brian phoned him there after
we had left, and she told me later that he had been very distracted during
their call. Bert phoned a couple
of days ago to say that he was failing, imagining that he was on Mission Street
in Winnipeg again. Carol thought
he was nearing the end, but I was still shocked when Bert phoned today to say
that he had died. He was a real
old Belgian of his generation, tough, admirably so in many ways. Even though I saw him rarely and knew
that he was close to death, I can’t help feeling moved by the knowledge that
another piece of what was the heart of my life is gone. This too will pass. Life is tenacious even if it often
seems less vibrant with age.
Jim and Jules harvesting apples in Kelowna
No comments:
Post a Comment