Two weeks ago, on November 16th, Grandpa Carpenter had a heart attack and stroke in his sleep. The next morning my Uncle Evan and cousin Dan found him still in bed at 10am. He was sent to the hospital and was recovering nicely. On Friday November 19th a second, more serious stroke occurred. Phil and I drove to Ithaca where I spent a good part of Saturday night and Sunday in the hospital with my mother sitting by his bed. The second stroke took away most of his speech and control of his body. He was able to move his right arm and leg and mumble a few words. With little hope of recovery and knowing he did not want to be hooked up to tubes and living on artificial nutrition or hydration, his four children decided to execute his living will and take him off everything except pain medication.
He was moved to Uncle Evan and Auntie Bren's house in Dryden on Monday, the 22nd. This is the home he grew up in and has always loved, so it was the perfect place to spend his last few days. With the help of Hospice, my mother and her three brothers spent many hours by his bedside, watching him fade away a bit more each day. On Thursday, November 25th, Thanksgiving Day, Grandpa passed away moments after Phil and I arrived in Dryden.
Services are this weekend, and I've been working on assembling this video of pictures that celebrate the man my Grandfather was and will always remain in our memories.
Rest in Peace, Grandpa. You will be missed.
(Missing music still, and this is only half the pictures!)
