Gregory Bleers, Sr. R.I.P.

My sister's husband of more than 40 years passed away in his sleep last night. His passing was painless, we are told (for him at least). My sister says his final weekend was spent happily--with family in Saugatuck, Michigan, puttering around the house and holding his newest grandbaby. He listened to the Masters' results on the way home and watched the highlights last night before he went to bed--he loved golf. Golf was a vice he took up later in life, I think after all his children were grown. Like me, he would hit a couple of good shots a round, and that was enough to keep him coming back.

Greg had the most energy of anyone I have known, he was always on the move--doing something, helping someone. We saw him at one end or the other of long trips for the past 25 years, as we moved to the Southeast that long ago. Sheila remembers him as always carrying someone's suitcase in from the car, whether when arriving at our place in the company of my 2 sisters and Mike, or when welcoming some of the many arrivals to our annual family reunion in Saugatuck. One final example, the last time he visited us, he cleaned out my garage!

He was one of those people who never met a stranger, he loved to talk and to strike up a conversation with people he encountered along the way. I never saw him be other than friendly toward every stranger he encountered.

Greg didn't hesitate when the chance came to chip in with his children to buy a vacation home and invest lots of sweat equity making it the place they dreamed it could be. When his kids needed his help, he was there. He helped his son rehab a house over the course of what seemed like a year or more, gutting the place and rebuilding it piece-by-piece.

I see so many smiles when I picture him, whether it was the impish grin when he was up to something or the positively beaming smile he would offer when one of us would tease him. He was full of life, and I'll miss him.

His passing is one of those events that gives me pause and makes me reflect on how my life is playing out. Am I doing all the important things I can? As I write the story of my life each day, am I including all that I value the most? I know this event is not about me, but I'm thinking it is one more gift from Greg--reminding me that life is better spent on the move than at rest, with a smile not a frown, and giving others a hand while you have the chance.