11 Comments

Declan, this is beautiful. I am so, so sorry to hear of your Father's passing. He knew he was loved by you, and you were loved by him...

Look in the mirror. There is his greatest Gift, His Legacy of Life, the Joy of his Heart -

You. 💖 He lives in Christ, and his love lives on in you.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Declan Finn

That was an excellent tribute to your father. In some ways he reminds me of mine.

The bit about unstable chemicals reminds me of the wonderful blog articles of Derek Lowe, "Things I won't work with". Among the best is his writeup about chlorine trifluoride. Yes, that's a real substance. It's even stable at room temperature. Look for it...

On chemical mistakes, my father told me about a high school friend who was doing some chemical experiments in his father's barn. He wanted to make bleach, which is done by feeding chlorine into an alkali like sodium hydroxide. Not having that, he decided to substitute one he had: ammonia. Oops. That doesn't produce bleach, but rather nitrogen trichloride, an oily liquid that floated to the top. And it's a contact explosive. It did some interesting damage to the barn but the teenager survived without major injury.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Declan Finn

keep those memories coming! What a treasure for all of us. And I can see the apple falls not far from the tree. How blessed to have such a father, mentor, model. I will pray for him and for you at Mass today, and often. He is never far from you.

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You remember the good times and write them down.

He'll always be a part of your life as long as you remember him, telling all those stories.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Declan Finn

I see by the picture that you share his general look. I believe that you also share much of his character. May the Lord sustain you until you meet your dad again in heaven.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Declan Finn

My Dad died in 2014 at the age of 90. For the last five years, he slowly faded away. Fast or slow, I expect that his passing has left a hole in your life. After nine years, I still miss his calm gentle support. All of the good things I have accomplished are because of him. Any disappointments are on me. You have my sympathy in your loss.

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I know the pain of losing a father suddenly. My father was killed in a boating accident. I had plans to be fishing with him the next day in the same boat.

Going on without my dad sucked, but I got through it. You can, too. It starts with realizing that no father worth the title would want you to hurt. Remembering the good times helps. Writing about it will help too, when you're ready.

For now, take solace that he's with God. Know also that you will see him again in God's good time.

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I really wish I could have met him, Declan. Margaret says we would have got on well, and I believe her. He sounds like a fantastic guy. May he rest in eternal peace.

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Amazing tribute to your father, Declan.

As for what to do? Move on. All you can do. All you can do. (Spoken with some sad familiarity with the situation...Dad's been gone a while now.)

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