The last thing you want to hear when one of your best friends calls is that her husband has just died suddenly of a heart attack. It doesn't even register at first what it is she is trying to tell you. You keep thinking that your ears are not hearing the right words.
And so it was with my friend Anne. Rich left for work like always and wasn't coming home ever again. He had a heart attack while with a client and while 911 was called immediately, too much damage had occurred, and Rich was gone. Just like that. Thirty-nine years of marriage, over. Just like that. I cannot comprehend it even now...I had no answer when she asked me, "How am I going to live without him?"
Rich and Anne were a couple, always and foremost a couple. They did everything together and it blessed the rest of us just knowing them. Anne and I finally agreed, "One day at a time, one step in front of the other, just go through all the motions." It's not like anyone has a choice in these matters.
Rich was son, husband, father, grandfather, friend, etc. extraordinaire, and I cannot imagine either how one goes on without him around. I laughed much with Rich...he was always about the laughter. He had the greatest sense of humor and shared it with everyone who knew him. I can't ever recall being with Rich and not laughing and feeling like the day was just better for having seen him along the way. His passions were his family, his golf, Cathedral High School, and Indiana University. He led a rich and full life, contributing much, giving endlessly, and enjoying it all along the way. I would walk in and he would be watching sports on TV and say, "Did you see that, Kayte, did you see THAT?" I would say, "Rich, I just got here, I missed it." And he would reply, "Well, it was the best (or worst depending on the case) ever and you missed it!" I would laugh and go in search of Anne, chuckling at how much Rich enjoyed his sports. He would say, "Here's one for you..." and tell a joke he heard and I would always laugh and enjoy the joke with him. It seems like I should end this with laughter as Rich was all about the laughter. Maybe I will laugh in Rich's memory tomorrow or next week. Today, not so much. Please join me in praying for the repose of the soul of Richard Leighton, beloved husband of Anne, son of Catherine, father of Michelle, Christy, and Jenny, grandfather to Joe, Sarah, Andrew, Nicholas, and the new grandbaby due next month. He will be so dearly missed.