PRESENTING...DADDY BERT

May I present Daddy Bert? He's the good sport on the left in the blue lei...going along with his 89th birthday festivities in 2007. He hated bringing attention to himself, so we "lost" the blinking button and other adornments when we went down to the lunchroom.

Bert was my husband's father who lived 92 years. That's a pretty impressive number of years for "the runt of the litter" (as he called himself).

Dadddy Bert died this year on the Fourth of July. Now we will always remember the Fourth as HIS independence day.

Bert Cruse was born at home on the farm in Goobertown, AR in the spring of 1918. He was the last child in his family, and he MAY have gotten some "babying".

Bert had a really tender heart for others and was the one in his family who took care of his widowed mother until she died (also at 92).

This is our favorite picture of Bert when he was younger.

One of Bert's best traits was his great sense of humor. He actually kept a file marked "anecdotes", but by any other name it was a joke file.

He would clip out things from magazines like Readers Digest when something tickled him. The last funny on file was "if you'd like to make new friends, just pick up someone else's golf ball".

The game of golf was fun for Bert until his 80's. His golf buddies would say that he might not hit it the farthest, but he always hit it right down the middle.

Bert could also be found at the city pool hall where he liked to play snooker and pitch. The other men had to quit smoking when he came into the pool hall because he couldn't breathe the smoke. I guess that worked for them because he was a "regular" there.

The most fun Bert had was when he was giving. He gave obvious and continuous things such as a smile and a wave and a joke, but he also was financially generous. Bert was the first to reach out to those in need. We heard story after story of how he helped others during/after the Depression. Because his working years were in farm loans/real estate, over the years he helped people get and keep their property. There were many stories about Bert's later life when he gave to many unconditionally.

One thing Daddy Bert was not willing to talk about was dying. He had some fears about death and our prayer for years was that the Lord would take him gently. He had wonderful caregivers who enabled him to be able to live independently at an active retirement place until the last two months of his life. But when they began to tell us that Bert was talking about "going to see his mother and wife"...we knew something was up.

Pneumonia put Bert in the hospital for two brief stays, then he spent four days in rehab and two days at Jonesboro's new Hospice House. Looking back, we believe God more than honored the prayers.

There was one gift wrapped in a bow for Mike on the day before Bert died. His dad had been non-responsive and had his eyes shut. But on this particular Saturday, when we arrived Bert opened his eyes wide open. Mike leaned down in his ear and said "Good morning, Dad...it's good to see you!" And with bright eyes, Bert responded "Well...good morning to YOU, Son. It's good to see you, too!" Bert closed his eyes after that and those were the last words he said. The next morning, his soul left his body.

A fine lifestory and good name are wonderful legacies that pass to the next generation. The Bible says "a good name is more to be desired than great wealth, and to be respected is better than silver and gold." Proverbs 22.1 We are still getting Daddy Bert stories as people find out that he has died. What fun to hear of his "good works" from grateful hearts who speak fondly of Bert Thaddeus Cruse.

Daddy Bert was a special man.