Cold Photos from Saturday Morning

Edgar Beckner

My Dad, Edgar Beckner, was born on April 18th, 1940. He graduated from Sissonville High School in 1958, spent 4 years in the Navy, serving on the USS Manley. He married my mother on Nov. 10th, 1961. They had three boys: Randal, born Aug. 7th, 1962; me, born Mar. 9th, 1966; and Mark, born May 19th, 1969. He worked at Union Carbide's Tech Center all of my life, retiring about 6 years ago. He also retired from the Naval Reserve.
On October 30th, he collapsed at home and had to be taken to the hospital. The next morning, they moved him to the ICU so they could monitor him better. After he was moved there, his heart stopped. They revived him quickly, but had trouble keeping his blood pressure up. They kept him stable for a week, but he didn't make any real progress, and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. A little after midnight on Nov. 7th, he started declining and they couldn't stop it. My Mom, brothers and I made it to the hospital in time to be with him when he died. He was 67 years old, with no prior health problems. The doctors are still stumped.
The funeral was Nov. 10th, which was Mom and Dad's 46th wedding anniversary.
It's hard from time to time; I'll be doing some little something and I'll be reminded of him. I was walking yesterday and realized that I had my hands clasped behind my back, just like him. The man with the answers to questions like, "Why is my dryer not heating up?" and "What's the tuning on a mandolin?" is no longer there to answer me. I have so many great memories of my Dad, and they'll sustain me. I have a large, supportive group of family and friends, and I appreciate all of them.
Dad, I'm going to miss your whistling, your singing, your Bluegrass, your wisdom, your smile, your love. You live on in me, Randy, and Mark; we are what you are, and I hope we made you proud.

Temporarily Down

My Dad is critically ill, so I won't be posting for a while. When I get back, I hope it's with good news. Later.