A Treasure Found at Home

last thursday at the end of the work day my dad called. i could tell from his voice right away that something was wrong.

dad: did your mom tell you uncle dick was going into the hospital?

me: yes. some test something about his heart, right?  is he ok?

dad: your uncle dick died today.

i was shocked. it was just a test. he had a heart flutter or murmur or something and they took him in to check stuff out. when they looked at his chest, they found a cloudy area in his lungs.

it was when they were taking a closer look at the lungs that things took a turn. he wasn’t very stable on the table, though it was a commonly performed procedure. when it was over they took him to an ICU sort of room and gave him an assisted breathing mask (the sort that push air into your lungs as you inhale). his oldest son was there when the doctor told the family they would have to make a decision.

it was certainly lung cancer. if they intubated,  it would be the first step in several months of uncomfortablness before he died. his son said uncle dick had talked with him about it several dozen times and he didn’t want to that. they let him go.

uncle dick was my grandma rose’s closest brother. mom and i both felt he was the last link to that generation. we lost AJ in dec of 2005, grandpa in april of 06, grandma in late june of 06, and now uncle dick.

i didn’t go to ohio for this funeral. there wasn’t really the time. i had things to do when grandma and grandpa died. things to sort through. but with uncle dick, that will all be left to his children, plus aunt gloria and laddy are still living in the house. things don’t need to be sorted through the same way as with mom’s parents.

i was pretty grumpy all weekend. any little request to do anything, any little thing that didn’t go as planned, and i was irritated. i tried to acknowledge what i would have done normally, and go ahead and do that instead of telling everyone how i didn’t want to do anything for anyone. i remember feeling this way when grandma rose died, too. i guess it’s just part of my experience of grief.

uncle dick was a navy guy. he was happy almost all the time. and italian. there’s not another way to describe it for me. he and aunt gloria took a vacation to hawaii something like 20 years ago now, he never stopped talking about it. he loved his wife gloria, his brother in law laddie and his sister (my grandma) and her children and hated his mother (grandma great) and his aunt (aj). uncle dick had a huge heart.

i’ll miss him. he’s buried near grandma rose, grandfeathers, grandma great, grandpa pete (grandpa great), and aj.

Richard T. Adante

BARBERTON — Richard T. Adante, of Barberton, Ohio, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, October 25, 2007.

Born on January 18, 1923 in Akron, Ohio, to Lena (Johns) and Peter Adante, Richard went on to graduate from Akron St. Vincent High School in 1941. Richard then went on to proudly serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II in the Atlantic Theater and with Halsey’s Third Fleet in the Pacific Theater; he was honorably discharged in June 1945.

Richard retired from B.F. Goodrich Company, Akron, Ohio with 40 years of service. He and his wife, Gloria are parishioners of St. Augustine Catholic Church, Barberton, Ohio since 1976.

Preceded in death by his parents; sister, Helen, and sister, Rosemary (Adante) Werner and her husband; and dear brother-in-law, Robert Werner; Richard is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Gloria (Davis), married on St. Patrick’s Day 1945. He is also survived by his dedicated brother-in-law, Laddie Davis; his brother, William (Norma) Adante; sons, Richard (Maria) of Copley, David (Laura) of Massillon, and Thomas (Judy) of Twinsburg; grandchildren, Richard, Courtney, Nicole and Kristen; great-grandchildren, Natalie and Isabella. Many special nieces and a nephew, along with many friends and neighbors in the Barberton Community.