Rest In Peace, Joe, We Will Miss You!

Today I attended the memorial service for a man named Joe. Joe was 90 years old. He was a member of several Masonic organizations, which is where I met him. Joe was a widower -- his wife passed away LONG before I met him. He was such a sweet man - always smiling, always encouraging and positive. Joe is the only person that I have ever performed CPR on.



About three years ago, at a Masonic event, we were all standing for the benediction. Joe collapsed. Roger and I started CPR right away. Roger did the breathing, I did the compressions. I am sure that the only reason I was able to stay calm and do it was because Roger kept encouraging me. He was very calm and just went to work. I counted aloud and did the compressions but Joe was starting to turn blue and I was afraid we were losing him. In fact, at one point, I was sure he was gone. Another one of the Masons took over doing the compressions for me -- he was much stronger and pushed so hard on Joe's chest, his legs rose off the floor with each compression. I still wonder that Joe did not have some broken ribs. In the meantime, we were waiting for the paramedics to arrive. The thing was, Joe's own son Chris is a fireman and we were trying to locate him to let him know. It seemed to take a long time, but finally the paramedics got there. They immediately started working on Joe. They defibrillated him several times and gave him several shots. Finally, they got his heart started again. The color started coming back to his face. They put him on a stretcher and took him to the hospital. On the way home, I asked Roger if he thought Joe was going to make it. He said he wasn't sure. We both agreed, however, that it was very fortunate that Joe had collapsed when he had. If we had ended the meeting and he'd gone home and collapsed there, he would have been alone and would surely have died.



Joe was not meant to die three years ago. He made a complete recovery and was as active and fun as ever before. He was very special to Roger and I, especially after that incident. We felt like we had been able to be instruments in God's hands to help him. Every time we saw him after that, I'd ask him how he was. Many times he would say something about how we'd given him another chance at life and things like that. Joe loved to be in a group, having dinner, talking, enjoying the company of others. He was very full of life and joy.



A few weeks ago, we heard that Joe was not doing very well. He looked a lot thinner, although still as positive and joyful as always. He had some tests done. The results were not good: cancer. They operated, thinking they would remove the cancer, but ended up closing him back up without doing anything. The cancer was too widespread.



Joe knew that he was dying. He was still as positive and loving and friendly as ever until his last breath. The service today was a testament to the wonderful man he was. There were over 100 people there, even in the extreme heat of an Imperial Valley summer. There were grown men who were crying because they were going to miss him so much. Joe was loved by many people. We will all miss him very much! Rest in peace, Joe.