Paul Morris
3/31/14
There are certain times in our life that we may endure
some hardships that are beyond our control. Having to deal with a
loved one or close friends falls into this category which none of us really
wish to believe that this time will ever come to our lives. But,
like every other person on this planet these times do present themselves and we
have to find a way to muddle through them. This type of setting
presented itself to me and my family over this past weekend with not just one
death but two.
The first of these settings came on Saturday afternoon
when it was made known that one of my good friends and coworkers Morris had
passed away. While Morris was not a lifelong friend of mine he had
become a good mentor to me during the time that we worked together. Morris
was a retired minister who had served in the army of God for many
decades. His enthusiasm and projection of hope to the people around
him served a greater purpose than many ever knew. Even though I did not have the opportunity to
sit under his ministry I could tell that I would have been blessed by the words
that he shared from God.
Morris worked at the hospital laboratory as a courier in
which he would take medications, deliver and pick up specimens from many
institutions in the area, take call at night for almost every department within
the hospital and sometimes get called out for products that patients needed and
then take them to the required areas of the county. Morris would
also serve as the hospital oncology department’s personal courier when patients
that needed treatment could not drive themselves to our facility. What
a great opportunity to get to serve the community and I guarantee that Morris
loved being around and helping out those people. Not many people
knew what Morris’s job was exactly but for those who knew what his job
entailed, we shall sorely miss him.
I noticed that even in these occasions he always
displayed nothing but a kind, gentle and passionate man for life, food, fun and
love for everyone around him. The Oncology
receptionist has a black scheduling book that she keeps on her desk. All of the oncology and Pharmacy staff look
through this book a couple of times each day for any changes that may
arise. I remember that on certain
occasions she would write up at the top left hand corner “No Morris”. This meant that Morris was either working for
the main hospital or he and his family were out playing together somewhere. Either way, Morris was not going to be around
for that day or week. I had no idea that
when I looked at that phrase that it would soon one day mean that Morris was
never going to return to us, even though he was looking forward to finally
retiring and moving down closer to his kids.
Morris was always thankful for work and enjoyed being useful in every situation
that presented itself and in this capacity as well; Morris we will miss seeing
your smile when you walk through that door, so much so that I will even miss
seeing “No Morris” in our scheduling book.
Morris was diagnosed with a dreaded disease and God did
not wish for him to suffer long. I have said many times that I
despise death but I cannot argue about the walks that Morris now takes. Morris lived a great life and was a faithful
servant to God’s Kingdom to which he now understands more than you and I can
ever physically know. We have physically lost Morris from this earth
but we shall never forget what Morris meant to our lives. We shall
miss you Morris and look forward to seeing you once again some fine day. I speak blessings upon the entire family of
Morris Ohlin and nothing but Godspeed to your legacy.
The very next day our family received news that one of
our close neighbors had passed away. Our
neighborhood is filled with some awesome families and Paul Hunter and his wife
Nancy are one of these families.
Receiving news of one death is tough but to receive the news of another
close friend a day later puts life into perspective. Mr. Hunter falls into the same category s
Morris in that he and his wife were not long time friends but for close to a
decade now they have been a calming presence within our street.
My two youngest daughters dubbed Mr. Hunter as “Mr. Paul”
and when they had an opportunity they would run over and spend a little time
with him. He did not give them much with
the exception of some great words of wisdom that they will keep in their hearts
until they go home to heaven and what a treasure they have whether they realize
this yet or not. I must admit that the
girls spent more time with the Hunters than I did and they will probably “miss”
him more than some of us will, but all of us will miss his presence on our
block and I shall miss him walking the halls of our hospital as well.
Mr. Paul was a volunteer at our hospital and his wife
Nancy still volunteers as well. It is a
comfort to know that people such as the Hunter’s love the community enough that
they willingly volunteer their time in order to help out in any way possible. I guess Mr. Paul understood the concept of
volunteering quite well for he served in our military and eventually retired
from this great service after decades of service to our country. Paul Hunter loved his country and each
morning as he opened his garage door the first thing that he would do would be
to mount the American flag on the side of his house and proudly displayed Old glory
for whom he so gallantly served.
I know that Paul’s family will miss him tremendously and
so will my family and our community. I
did not get to attend his memorial service but I understand that there was a
tremendous turnout and that every volunteer from the hospital that could attend
was dressed in their appropriate volunteer uniforms. What an excellent tribute to a well deserving
gentleman. No one ever likes to attend a
funeral but I have taught my girls that they are necessary to show respect and
dignity to loved ones who we had the privilege of knowing. Paul will be greatly missed, especially
around the 4th of July when fireworks are the call of the day.
Two great warriors laid to rest in consecutive days. Both fought in separate wars but both fought
with a common and loving heart. Both will
be physically missed by many but are now wrapped in loving arms that we do not
completely understand. I look forward in
seeing both of these gentlemen some day but for now I know that I when I look
at our hospital courier car driving around I will still wish to see Morris
behind the wheel. And I know that I will
continually look for Paul’s red truck to be slowly driving down our
street. Both men physically silenced yet
both men still ring loud and clear within our hearts. I stand up and proudly salute you Paul Morris
and may both your legacies remain within our hearts for generations to come.
DLB
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