Just a quick report as it’s gotten late.

Dad was given pain medication last night that might have explained him sleeping deeply, but he wasn’t given anything more most of the day and he continued to sleep. Elaine thought he was beginning to make a death rattle, but Lauryn said it just sounded to her like heavy breathing from his mouth. She said he responded a little when they called to him. This evening, a hospice nurse came over to check on Dad. She put him on a scheduled dose of morphine every couple of hours or so. Lauryn just called in tears to tell me Dad passed, I would imagine around 11:15 since it’s 11:24 this very moment.

Lauryn said that she and Rob and Elaine were with Dad when he passed. She said that she heard his breathing getting farther and farther apart so she started talking to him and telling him everything that was on her heart. Her husband, Rob, being a musician, sang a couple of hymns to Dad. Rob is also an Anglican priest, so he said a prayer over Dad, and then he found some hymns to play on his phone. Lauryn said that Dad went peacefully. She, however, was in tears.

Pray for my family in Oregon as they grieve and try to figure out what to do from here. Rob called hospice and they will take care of all the immediate notifications. I will write an obit here tomorrow night. I don’t think it has quite sunk in for me yet.