Our Marvin

Twenty two years ago, we met Marvin and Nell. We were both having our homes built by Harry... We would kid around about who was getting more building time. I don't even remember who actually moved in first, but it was about the same time.

Marvin and Nell were living a busy retired life...always on the go...trailering with their friends...traveling...taking walks...playing golf...

In 2004, Nell died and we became even closer to Marvin. He became more than our neighbor, more than our friend....Marvin became family to us. We have loved him for a long time.
He and my guy were great buddies...great buddies...
During the week, my guy would just announce he was heading over to see Marvin. It would always be around 5 - 5:30, because that was the time for a beer and some nuts. Marvin, as he would describe himself, should have been a squirrel since he liked nuts so much! He also was a Miller's Genuine Draft guy.
We loved to have Marvin over for dinner and just to visit. He taught us to play cribbage, even giving us the first cribbage board he ever made...one he made when he was living in Alaska. Marvin was a master cribbage player...able to count the cards before I could even blink.
Marvin found out he had cancer not too long ago. He had been slowing down a bit, to be expected when you're 96 1/2 years old! But after going to the doctor, he found out it was cancer. Marvin chose to undergo chemo and radiation...thinking the effects would be minimal...just 5 weeks of treatment. After 2 1/2 weeks, the toll on our Marvin was just too much. He was just too weak...going into the hospital to get some pep back into him so he could finish his treatment.

On Thursday morning, a week ago today, Marvin made the decision he was ready to go Home. He wanted to have all the IVs stopped...he said he wasn't getting any better...he was ready to go to Heaven. My guy and I saw him Thursday night before we left for southern California on Friday. He told me it had been a hard, emotional day...

As much as I grieve for our Marvin, I can celebrate the extraordinary life he was given. 96 1/2 years! He saw so much in his long life...always saying his 'memory was too long' when it came to the extraordinary prices of things today. He was the man of incredible stories, of which my guy and I had the absolute pleasure of sharing in. Here are some old blogs featuring our Marvin. You can read here about his 96th birthday, here about Our Favorite Musher, here , here, and here about more of his birthdays. Other posts you might enjoy about our Marvin can be found here and here and here.

It has been such an honor, such a joy, to have known and loved him for 22 years...

but our heart still hurts...