We lost a wonderful man last night…

DH and I had the honor of sitting by the bedside of a dear friend last night, with his wife of 41 years, as he took his last breath and passed on from this earthly plain to the next.

He was a great man and he meant so much, to so many.  He came into our lives slowly but had a huge impact.  He was a surrogate grandparent to my kids.  He loved hearing about DD’s dance career, he administered the Oath at my son’s commissioning in the army.  He was my cheerleader always as I worked my way through the Lay Servant/Lay Speaker/Certified Lay Minister process.  He cheered all of DH’s accomplishments, his retirement, his promotions, his graduations!  He quickly went from friend to family.

We came to be friends through church and then Dinner for 8 meals and then we became family as we just started sharing meals every month… then every two weeks… then sometimes weekly.   We celebrated birthdays and other important occasions together.  

Stephen Kempf was a devoted family man, a patriot, a wonderful friend, and a faithful man of God. He will be greatly missed.  Rest easy my friend, your work here is done, we will take it from here.