My nephew, John Andrew McGrath has passed away at 57. He had been ill for some time, and in great pain, and I believe his body was just worn out from the fight of dealing with it.<\/p>\n
Andy will be cremated, and in a week there will be a visitation and funeral. If I can, and I’m not sure my tears will let me, I’d like to say this to those gathered:<\/p>\n
HE\u2019S AT PEACE. HE\u2019S NO LONGER IN PAIN.<\/p>\n
HE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, AND GOD SAID, \u201cIT\u2019S TIME. COME HOME.\u201d<\/p>\n
WE MAY WANT TO QUIBBLE WITH GOD ABOUT WHO NEEDS HIM MORE, BUT I THINK GOD WOULD UNDERSTAND THAT WE MISS ANDY, SORELY. BUT ANDY IS FREE OF PAIN. HOW COULD WE BEGRUDGE HIM THE SURCEASE?<\/p>\n
I HAVE MEMORIES OF ANDY, SOME OF THEM SHARED WITH ME BY OTHERS\u2026<\/p>\n
OF OUR SOCIAL ANDY RUNNING DOWN ROUTE 59 IN PLAINFIELD IN A SAGGY DIAPER, HAVING ESCAPED FROM THE BACK YARD OF THE HOUSE ON BARTLETT.<\/p>\n
OR OF HIS HALLOWEEN COSTUMES.<\/p>\n
DID I HEAR THAT HE DRESSED AS THE EASTER BUNNY???<\/p>\n
BUT, THE MEMORY THAT I WILL ALWAYS TREASURE IS OF HAVING WATCHED ANDY DANCE IN HIS EARLY TWENTIES.<\/p>\n
ANDY HEARD THE BEAT. HE HEARD THE RYTHMN, THE HARMONIES, THE FORWARD MOTION CREATED BY THE COMPOSER, AND THE LYRICS. <\/p>\n
HE HEARD IT ALL, AND HE TRANSLATED IT INTO JOYOUS MOVEMENT. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE ELSE MOVE AS ANDY DID, AND I CHOOSE TO REMEMBER THAT HAPPY MOMENT.<\/p>\n
JOHN ANDREW MCGRATH, YOU FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT.
\nI WILL MISS YOU AND KEEP YOU IN MY HEART,<\/p>\n
FOREVER.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My nephew, John Andrew McGrath has passed away at 57. He had been ill for some time, and in great pain, and I believe his body was just worn out from the fight of dealing with it. Andy will be … Continue reading