Eighty Memories for Eighty Years: #40 On Burying my Father

Doral William Pilling
January 6, 1906 - December 24, 1982

If the end of the life of my mother makes the list of memories I cherish, so does the end of the life of my father.

For me, that death is a list of saying good-byes.

Good-bye to the games he played with me.

Good-bye to the gallons of milk he delivered to me.

Good-bye to my model of intellectual curiosity.

Good-bye to the place where I could ask the deepest questions of my heart.

Good-bye to watching his quiet acts of generosity.

Good-bye to a gamer who played by gentleman’s rules. 

Good-bye to his story-telling.

Good-bye to his spontaneous (seemingly) practical jokes. 

Good-bye to the man whose role as a father moved into a deep friendship with me: friend to friend. 

Welcome to this list, Doral.

Arta