Death of a friend

Genealogist thrive on recording births, marriages and deaths, but when you have to record the deaths of those who you enjoyed sharing your hobby with there is a sense of loss. It's different then when when a close family member passes. It's often a loss that you don't learn about in time to attend the funeral. It may be weeks or month before you learn they are gone. It's a different loss, not as crashing as a family member, but it's still a deep loss. It's a loss of someone who understands the excitement you feel when you break through a brick wall. Often it's someone who is a distant relative working on the same lines your are. You may only see or talk to them a couple time a year, but the excitement is great because you know the work that has gone into each others research.

Today I learn that a dear friend died. He died in September, he was a distant relative of my husband's who made me feel great. He was older then my parents, I didn't know him well. We shared a love of family history. We met him through another distant relative that I looked up on the internet. I felt that he really enjoyed our visits. We talked about family and ourselves. Jim was a very successful man, I'm not sure we would have had anything in common if not for a family connection. He would call or drop a letter out of the blue. We would drop in and visit if we were in the area. Our last visit was sad, he had no clue who we were. I wanted to go to his services, but they are long past. We had ask his daughter to let us know if he got bad, but we were no one to her. I understand how we would never have entered her thoughts during her time of pain. I will send a very late card of condolence. Mostly I miss not having an interesting friend to drop in on. I will miss received obituaries of people I have never met from Jim so my records are up to date. Rest in peace James Waite, I hope you realize the impact you made on our lives even though the time we spent together was short.