Kevin & Family

This photo was taken by me on Saturday, April 4, 2009 and it was to be my last moment with my nephew, Kevin while he was alive. He passed away on April 23 at noon St. Louis time. I had flown in from Las Vegas, NV on the previous Wednesday to spend time with Kevin as he was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. It was an illness he learned about around Thanksgiving in 2008.

Each day of my visit with Kevin was a complete day as we shared each other's company. We shared many stories of our times together. On Thursday we had errands to run. The first errand was to take Kevin to the clinic where he thought he may have chemotherapy if his red blood cell count was high enough. However, after speaking to his doctor Kevin was to have another Catscan scheduled for 2 pm. In between visits to the clinic Kevin & I had lunch at Steak & Shake and then ran over to the pharmacy to place a prescription. We stopped by to visit his Mom & my sister, Mary. From there we went to Walgreens to purchase reading reading glasses for his Mom.

Again, this visit was to be the last time I would see Kevin alive. Not only was he my nephew, but he was a wonderful friend from the first time I saw him as an infant. He lived with his family just down the hill from where my family lived and as a result we shared a lot of time together during the 60's. Kevin was about 13 years than me and was like a little brother to me. I've always loved him.

My flight is soon to board to Las Vegas as I have come to the St. Louis for his funeral. I miss Kevin already and will for a long time.