His
60’s
In
Oct. 1998 Dad was proud to see his son, Steven,
married to Amy Hiller.
He
celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary
on Dec. 7, 1998.
In
the spring of 1999 Dad and I went on a
pan-European tour together and had a good time
racing around Austria, Slovenia and Italy in a
little rental car. We ate drank, and were merry.
In Vienna we went to the Maiden’s Ball and
carried on. In Slovenia we looked up his
family’s birth records and were shocked to find
that so many were murdered during the war,
including his estranged father. In Italy, one
night the city of Udine exploded as people
cheered, hanging out of windows and cars, as their
soccer team did something great like cure heart
disease or something. Dad and I goofed around by
running around cheering too.
The
cheering soon ended. After we returned, Dad was
diagnosed with colon cancer. On July 30 he was
admitted to the hospital for an operation and at
midnight I snuck in to keep him company. The
admitting nurse got to us and asked how old he
was. I peered at the clock and said he was 62 by
only 15 minutes. We hoped that he was having a
happy birthday but we doubted it- it was his last
one ever. In April of that year he ended a long
struggle with cancer. He would miss by weeks the
birth of his first grandson, Daniel Joseph Hold,
and the listing of his sons’ Hold Brothers On-Line Investment
Services Inc., www.holdbrothers.com,
as #152 of the Inc. Magazine
500.
I
admired his gracefulness dealing with the disease
and his will to live. Some family members asked
that he sign the “do not resuscitate” forms
but he pressed on, eager for each moment that he
was a part of the universe. One night he fought
the delirium of liver failure and asked for Steve
and I very emphatically. When we came he held our
parting handshakes and gaze an extra long time. He
passed that night.
