Today May 01, 2012 my brother Rex has been gone from this earth one complete year. He lost his nine month battle with brain and lung cancer at 2:02AM on a beautiful spring morning. This has been a year of first without him and it has not been easy. There have been many people to thank who have reached out to our family in prayers and emotional support. It shows me what an awesome group of people we call our friends and family.

When I was in the fifth grade my parents adopted my brother. They brought him home on Christmas Eve. He was a gift for all of us. I have one older sister and one younger sister. We are all two years apart. I am the middle child. Rex is the youngest by two years from my baby sister. He was five years old and so pitiful looking when he came to live with my family. He had crossed eyes that we thought probably came from a blow to his head. His eyes were so bad he could not walk three feet without falling or bumping into something. Later, he had three surgeries to correct them. His blonde hair was curly and so shaggy. At five, he had never been taught his colors or alphabet. He had been abandoned by his parents and for weeks had taken care of his younger brother and sister. Finally, his uncle had got involved and the state awarded him custody. However, he did not want my brother due to his deformity of his eyes. It was a terrible story.

My dad was a big outdoors person (hunting and fishing) but my brother never cared anything about it. Instead he always loved music of all genres. He had a wonderful sense of humor and loved telling jokes. In the first grade his IQ was found to be extremely high; yet, he struggled with school work and dropped out at seventeen. He left home in search of his biological parents. He did find his dad but no relationship was ever formed. Nor did he ever find his siblings or mother.

He settled down in his late twenties and married a wonderful little girl from Louisiana and had a daughter, son, and grandbaby. One month after celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in August 2010 he went to the doctor suffering from severe headaches and a pain in his side that he attributed to "too much yard work." The diagnosis was not good. He had more than ten inoperable brain tumors and lung cancer. Four years prior to this he had experienced prostate cancer with surgery and radiation. He thought he had beaten the big "C."

My brother was not a Christian until my dad was dying of leukemia ten years ago. My dad told him he wanted to see him again in heaven. My brother promised him he would and soon after he accepted the Lord as his Savior.

We were getting ready to drive to see him for the last time when his
wife called us from Louisiana and let us know it was too late. She said my brother had died laughing and raising his arms up to be lifted up by God's angels. She said he had slipped into a coma at home for the past two days and had not uttered a word. She got up around 2:00AM to get a snack. My brother's hospice bed was in the living room. While going by his bed she said she noticed his eyes were open. Then "he just laughed out loud and he was gone."

What a way to go! We miss this remarkable man. He was 58 years old and so unique and special. He had so many plans for his future. Going to Heaven laughing is just like him.

My mother said the morning of his death she woke around 2:00AM and had a vision of my brother standing with my daddy. She said "the Lord spoke to me and told me I didn't have to pray for him anymore that he was with Him." Praise God for this blessing and assurance.

My brother had a military funeral. It was beautiful and had a few surprises. It was not planned but just as my brother's coffin was placed in the mausoleum two jets flew over and made a perfect cross with their air streams. At the same moment a flock of ducks flew over and began quacking. It caused wonder with the cross and then laughter. Just like our Heavenly Father to let us look up just the right moment to see the cross and just like my brother to have those silly ducks punctuate it with quacking ducks. You would have to have known my brother...he loved to laugh.

Rex, I miss you something terrible. I'll see you again and then we'll laugh and listen to great music forever. Tell Daddy hello. I know he was there to welcome you.