Jack Ecton Carver

It's so odd to me. One minute you have years and years ahead, the next minute, it's gone. A full life lived and suddenly you blink and 81 years has passed!? It's so easy to take so much for granted. I can honestly tell you that Dad and I didn't. We were close, we talked and we appreciated the time. We spent time going through the family tree. We talked about sports. He watched Logan learn to use a straw for the first time. Mostly, we would sit quietly, watching a game, with no real need to speak. Just being in the room with him always made me feel better.

Watching someone you love die is not easy. Dad was a tall and strong man and always towered over me. He could open anything, get anyhing, fix anything. To see him lose weight and grow weak was so difficult. Mercifully we were all very lucky. It didn't last but 5 months and he was still walking around the day he died. Not well, but he could. He died with dignity. He died on his terms. He died without fear.

I knew in September when he told me about the cancer that this was it. We had whatever time we had. It's who Dad was. So many people said he should fight. He didn't want that, it wasn't Dad. I truly understood that as I do today. If there was a lack of quality in the future, he would not take that road. Besides, at 80 and with the melanoma he had, there was no fighting it anyway. I think there was some relief for him knowing that. I think there were days that he did seem a little scared to me. Other days I could tell he wanted it to be over finally.

This website is of course for us. All of us. Everyone who knew him, met him, loved him, needs to grieve, pay respects, or just reach out to family as you would normally at a service. With our family spread all over the globe and with his ashes not arriving for weeks anyway, we thought this would be a cathartic way for us to connect. No other way seems appropriate for Dad.

Please tell stories that we haven't heard. Post pictures we haven't seen. We would love to know him better through your eyes too.

Thank you for visiting.

Kim