A Poem to be read on the 50th

The following poem was written by Fred Knutson for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary.
That was on June 20, 2003, ten years ago.

A Poem to be read on the 50^th to Carol & Stan

I’ll write a little poem

For this very special day,

‘Bout two very special people

With 50 years of ‘makin hay’.

If my words is ‘country tuned’

You’ll have to please forgive,

I’m a country boy at heart

And will be as Long as I live.

Now if you’ll journey back with me

‘Bout half a century,

You’ll find yourself in Milan,

A little place in God’s country.

There is a little church

Below the railway track,

Where the Presbyterians gather,

Once a week to make ‘a pact’.

But today is a Saturday

And folks is in a stir,

Because Macdonald and Morrison

Got weddin’ plans for sure.

Folks from far away

Has come with folks in town,

To witness that special moment

When ‘this woman’ weds ‘this man’.

There’s an air of anticipation

As through those doors the guests do file,

Then from the front the groom he comes

And his lovely wife comes down the aisle.

And now the joy which all will share

For the most part all their life,

As the minister asks that livin’ word

“Will you take her as your wife?”

We’ll have to guess as time has passed

And Carol and Stan have stood the test,

That the answer that he gave

Must have been a ‘Yes’.

And the heavens heard the sound

Of a simple melodious voice,

As a feller by the name of Henry Mouland

Sang a love song of their choice.

Of God’s presence there was no question

For even a lad of ten,

Could tell something special had happened

In that little glen.

Now here we are some later

In a bustling, larger place,

Fifty years have passed

In such a seemin’ rapid pace.

In between that sweep of time

That Stan worked at the Gazette,

And graduated with a well-earned handshake

Havin’ well his contract kept.

While Carol kept the house at home

As fine as one can do,

Raised four kids of whom she’s proud

That you’ll agree, there here with you!

This is a rare and wondrous thing

When folks ‘so splitten’-up’ seems odd,

But Carol and Stan have stayed together

And the reason we know – “It’s God.”

There’s just one question with you I’ll leave

For in my mind it stands aloof,

Cause I never lived to see the day

If Uncle George jumped over the roof.

So now as with a thought I close

The very best to all who’s there,

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY I say

As you move ahead on the wings of a prayer.

That the God alone

Who’s been with you,

Will yet deepen

Each day that’s new.

From, ‘the little guy in the doorway’

Fred Knutson
(Written for June 20, 2003)


Ten years later:

Today my parents mark 60 years of marriage, but their lives are very different today.

June 01, 2013, two days after Dad's 89th birthday. Dad's health declined rapidly this year and he is no longer able to walk. Today there are more signs than I wish to see that possibly indicate the onset of some type of dementia.

 

July 18, 2012. This is one of the better recent pictures of Mom but not the most recent. Mom has suffered from some form of Alzheimer's Disease since we first began to notice early symptoms in summer 2000. Mom has no longer been able to live at home since August 14, 2008. She no longer seems to know who we are. Tragically, she cannot even remember that she is married and has been for past 60 years.

Addendum December 09, 2013

 May 30, 1924 - December 07, 2013

Dad passed away around 16:00 on Saturday, December 07, 2013, after being admitted to the hospital two days earlier. Dad was 89. 

What surprised me most was the doctors discovering that Dad had very advanced cancer all through his body. This past year we had no idea he was suffering from cancer. His own family doctor missed this also.

The saddest part is that Mom has no idea what has occurred. She is no longer capable of understanding what happened. Alzheimer's Disease has taken away from her just about everything except her life.