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Eulogy
Diane Foley
August 10, 1949 – December 28, 2005
God
Bless Diane…
--The Life in Our Life.
Every
one of us is here today…
…because in some way, --we have known
Diane
.
Each one of
us… --have our own perspective…,
We have our own
personal memories of Diane…
For Me, --Diane was
my lovely…, devoted wife,
For Angie, --a daughter…
--now without a Mother,
For Ryan, --Diane so
loved her only son…
For Rick, --a little
sister, a sweet memory…
My love goes out to my family…
--and friends touched by
Diane’s Life.
We have all been touched by Diane: --The Life in Our Life.
I’m so-o-o-o… Sorry….
We did every thing we
could. It wasn’t enough.
We’re s-o-o-o… Lucky!! --
to have shared Diane… --The Life in Our
Life.
Diane…
was in life:
an only daughter
to Lloyd & Anita Haddock, Sister to her big brother Dr. Richard
Haddock, Mother to our children Angie & Ryan, Grand Mother
to Brittany, Hunter, Alex, Bradley & Jason, Logan & Lauren and
littlest Lauren…
Diane’s
Father, a Pilot in the
Air Force, --flew B-24’s over Germany in WWII.
Diane’s
Mother, Anita, --raised
Ricky and Diane in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Kansas, Bermuda, Texas.
I met Diane in
1969, when I was in Pilot Training for the Air Force.
Remember the
Happy Hour scene in Top Gun, Hot shot Pilots 6 to 1 over the
hot beauty Queens…?
That was
Diane at Randolph Air
Force Base, Texas in 1969.
High School
Beauty Queen.
I could hold my
own as a Pilot, so it must have been the uniform… that caused her to
say: “Yes” to my proposal that next year...
Her
GrandFather was to
ill to attend our wedding ceremony in a church… so typical of Diane’s
caring for others
she said: “We’ll just have the ceremony in Grandma and Grand Dad’s
home…” --So we did, 2 days after Christmas 1970. She willingly gave up
a little girls dream of a church (military) wedding… --thinking
instead of the needs of her Grand Father… That was so typical of
Diane… --Caring for Others…
--That Quality
made her a natural Mother to our children…
With my flying
overseas for weeks at a time… --Diane ran the house, raised the kids…
Looked after all
her dogs…
And then went to
work for 20+ years to help support us. She held down most every job I
ever had…
When my nephew
Jim Foley came out from California to help me build our house outside
Adair, Oklahoma… --Diane took over my 2 State sales territory…
Diane did what
she always did, she touched peoples hearts wherever she went… Her
personality was engaging and friendly, she would always put other’s
needs above her own…
Diane
was……home
builder, sailor (not by choice!), over the road driver (not by
choice!), healthcare worker, Facility Manager, Sales person,
Contractor/Home Builder, Interior Decorator and most important to me…
wife/spouse to me.
Diane…
I remember
the Joy
Diane showed… --At her
Christmas Quilt from Angie.
Diane
so loved
her daughter….
My Memory
of Diane’s smiling in joy this Christmas…
--Now in
Passing… --That Memory is Precious to me.
Diane
was no stranger to
pain…
She endured
intense pain from shingles on pretty face for years…
Diane
suffered without complaint… --In the hospital, she would
apologize for being the slightest trouble to her nurses…
The pain in her
hip… from her Cancer…
Diane
showed how a Woman so in love
with life, and her loved ones…
--can be at peace with life's end….
On Diane’s
last Christmas night… I can’t describe her distress.. Her face
reflected the intense pain from her hip, her need for life giving
oxygen. she couldn’t get her breath. struggling to breath. I was
helpless to do anything but hold her hands look in her green eyes and
speak calming words of: “Relax, Diane. It’s OK, Babe…” as she huffed
and puffed little gasps of air.
Slowly, she
slowed down and calmed down as she began to realize her time was not
yet
I spoke to her
almost constantly, words of positive encouragement but without any
outward acknowledgement now from Diane… --she was just unable.
Her soft
green eyes were pools of love and mystery to me…
The day after
our 35th Wedding Anniversary I was fortunate to be at her
side to hold her hand, --to look into Diane’s eyes at the end just
before she passed over to the other side……
Diane is a window…
--into our future.
In the hospital holding Diane’s hand at her end
time…and telling her she was not alone, she is loved, it’s alright
Babe…… She took what I thought was her last breath… I looked back up
from my tears... --to see Diane open her eyes for the first time that
afternoon.
An expression came over her face I’ve never
seen before… --I’d call it angelic. I can’t describe: the peace, the
happiness, the calm confidence of her passage to a better place… I
know she was seeing someone’s presence on the other side as
well as seeing and being comforted the light and warmth over
on the other side.…
Diane …met illness
with courage and grace.
In her medical
troubles, Diane showed how
a woman so in love with life
… --can be
at Peace with Life's End.
And where does
her strength come from? Who taught her Courage?
It’s the
Faith of a fine Lady with a
Fearful Illness,
Her Stubbornness
and Love of Life
–she held
on until after our 35th Wedding Anniversary.
Now,
Death has done all that death
can do.
--we are
left with the joy she shared with
us…
Now she
sees Anita & Lloyd/, her GrandmaHatti and Gran Dad, Ben --face
to face.
And we
look to that fine day when we
will see her again,
--illness gone,
--smiling as always,
and the:
Sorrow of Diane’s Parting… --Gone
Forever.
May God
Bless Diane as we give Thanks
for our precious time
with her.
What a
Gift from God
to have shared Diane’s Love…
God Bless: Lady Diane -- The Life in Our
Life.
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