It's a new day in Sugarcreek Township & Bellbrook!
09/11/2024
Two years ago (tonight), I was up all night at my dear friend, “Pee Wee’s” house after his passing. I received a call asking me to come ASAP just before 10 pm. Death is unavoidable, and at the age of 101 we knew it was inevitable. My Pastor had helped me prepare for this moment and gave me appropriate prayers which I carried in my purse for many months. When I walked in the door and saw him lying still on his couch, I knew he was gone. I dropped to my knees, put my right hand over his heart and together we prayed for this simple, yet great man. Fighting back the tears, I sat with him as the memories of our almost thirty years of friendship played like a movie in my mind. I brought him lunch every Wednesday and that will be no more. He chose the couch to sleep on even though there was a hospital bed in the dining room as Jim wanted to spend his last days there. He enjoyed applesauce and chocolate covered raisins, although he only sucked off the chocolate and threw the raisins away. He shared his regrets of life with me a year before he died. I journaled how I felt that night:
“Jim passed peacefully in his home … the house he and his wife Donna built by hand on the land he loved. I stayed with the family that night until the mortuary people arrived and prepared Jim to leave his home for the very last time. It was around 3 am, it was a beautiful night. I stood outside under the stars in the moon light. It was 68 degrees and the katydids and crickets were singing, spilling out their song into the deepening darkness of the night. I watched as Jim’s body, honorably draped with the United States flag, was taken away. Suddenly I felt a pure stillness. It was as if the land was mourning.”
Jim “Pee Wee” Martin 1921-2022 – A true WWII Hero – Gone, but never forgotten. Rest in peace my friend and know your cat “Kitty” is doing just fine with us!
