i have kept the faith.....

carlton jones

09.06.1925-03.17.2010

today was such a bitter-sweet day for our family.

tommy's papa (pronounced paw-paw) passed away this afternoon at 3:09. he had fallen several times lately - the last time breaking his right shoulder.

we found out this morning that his kidneys were not functioning and that they were "calling in family". i was in the middle of a procedure, so i finished it, picked up mary peyton, met tommy at home, and we headed to carthage.

{fall 2009}

when we got there, papa was still somewhat awake. he would try to talk a little and would nod yes and no. he did say to me (in response to something i was giving him a hard time about), "i've known you too long". mcqua, tommy's uncle, was by him when he said this and it is the last sentence that we heard him say.

around 2:50 or so, i thought i would get mary peyton out and about for a few minutes because we didn't know how long we would be there. tommy told me that we ought to ride up to williamsville to the williams brothers store. i won't explain this store here - it deserves a post to itself.

{fall 2009}

a few minutes after we got there, tommy called to say that papa had gone Home.

he did not struggle, he just simply went to sleep and quit breathing. peacefully. one minute tommy, mcqua, and linda were watching him breathe, then they looked away. tommy looked back and said, "mom, i think he's gone.". and he was.

papa,

i will miss you more than you know. mary peyton already does. you pinched harder than just about anyone when you were picking on us, but you also loved more than anyone. i wish that you were able to tell us about your experiences in world war II, but i understand why you couldn't. i am so thankful that i was able to be a grandchild of yours for 10 years.

we know that you were tired and granny was waiting on you. you are now in the presence of Christ - the goal of all of us. mary peyton said today that she will see you when she gets to Heaven. thank you for the legacy that you left.

much love always,

suzie belle, your delta devil

{november 1, 2009}

{after mary peyton's baptism}