Nine years ago today, the greatest influence in my life started his eternal patrol. This is the information from Beaufort National Cemetary in South Carolina:
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| Photo courtesy “Speedy” Gonzalez |
Kilgallon, James R,
b. 08/26/1925
d. 01/05/1996
US Navy, LT
Res: N. Charleston, SC
Plot: 60 0 255
bur. 01/08/1996
Dad died from a brain tumor. He was tired of Chemotherapy, tired of being weak and thin, tired of being nauseous. He never really “quit” smoking, never really “quit” drinking, never really “quit” swearing. I guess he was a sailor even at the end.
He did “quit” worrying about the family name when we introduced him to his 9 month old grandson the previous summer (1995). It was during that summer visit with his typical irreverent humor, “Killer” told me not to worry about dying. After giving him a puzzled look, my Dad went on to explain: Mom, a devout Catholic, had died swiftly nearly 10 years earlier. We are all convinced she’s “Upstairs.” Dad basically looked me in the eye and said, “John, after I’m gone, you won’t have to worry about where you go after you die—you’ll now have family in both places!” As a World War II Subvet, Dad had spent a lot of time “down below” already.
