With Love and Remembrance

My little brother Mark slipped peacefully into eternity last night at 9:05pm Pacific time.

No more struggle.  No more suffering.  No more debilitating brain cancer.

I will miss him every minute of every day in every way possible as long as I live.

My heart is ripping into so many pieces. I don't know if I would be able to find them all and even begin to repair a heart that functions.


I will be making arrangements to get to Arizona. My apologies to the guilds I was to visit in September, but family always comes first. We will also pick up those pieces at a later time.


My family and I need this time to gather not only to mourn, but to remember all the good times and to find the way to keep that spark that was Mark alive in each one of us.

He was such an example to me on how to be happy no matter what.

He never had an angry word to say, he was always the first one there to help anyone with anything – he was a wonderful father to his 5 beautiful children, and grandfather to his beautiful granddaughters.

To say he will be greatly missed is the world’s most absurd understatement one can make.

He really had a genuine love for others that can not be contained.

Mark and his son Spencer with daughter-in-law McKenna.

Playing with a round of my Bonnie Hunter playing cards.

(He said it was most appropriate that *I* was the joker.)

He struggled long and hard over the past 5 years since he was first diagnosed with glioblastoma.  

And our family has grown to love each other more through this process.  

You may remember my other 4 brothers jumping in to have their heads shaved in a show of love, support and solidarity when the chemo first took Mark’s hair:

December 28, 2013.

This is how family pulls together.  We pulled together for Mark, and now we pull together to hold each other up so we can hang on and start our new normal without him physically amongst us, but always with us in spirit.

The three oldest – before the others came along and enriched our family.

Mark and Sharolyn.

From this moment I am taking life moment by moment.

I know there are orders that have come in during the month of August, and I was planning on starting to send those out today.  I can’t today. 

They will get done.  Thank you for understanding my delay.

As my wonderful friend Jessica told me as only Jessica can – “Those people can wait for their freaking pencils – family is more important!”

Well yes, Jess – since you put it that way.

Yes.  Yes it is.

Struggling with letting go….