August 3, 1937 to
September 28, 2008
It saddens me
to announce that after three and a half years of fighting colon
cancer my wife, Darlene Myers passed away on September 28, 2008. She
was a fighter and never gave up. She fought to the end to stay alive
until son Brian arrived to say goodbye to her. The day after Brian
and his wife Elaine arrived Darlene just let go and stopped
breathing. Daughter Suzanne had already made two one day 12 hour
driving trips from Marianna, FL to comfort Darlene and I. I ask her
not to do that again as I surely wouldn’t survive if something
happened to her also. Son Steven in Portland had his reservations
made to come the next week but I ask him to wait and we would have a
family memorial when things settled down.
Darlene and I had a wonderful life. We owned
Beer and Winemaker’s Pantry for 27 years and had a ball. I retired
from engineering in 1994 and for the next 5 years we worked side by
side for 7 days a week. Well…on Sundays I bladed and would arrive at
work exhausted and would take a little nap for an hour or so. Not a
problem with Darlene. Every single day was a fun filled adventure at
the Pantry.
Darlene loved to have Picnics and Brunches
for the Roller Bladers, the Skiers and my SPHS classmates. Between
2000 and 2004 she had 18 Picnics and 7 Brunches. In 2005 Darlene
contracted the colon cancer and her Brunches and Picnics were
severely curtained. However she still managed a few more.
There was something about Christmas Eve that
Darlene loved. Everyone loves Christmas but Christmas Eve was a very
special event for Darlene. She had a Christmas Eve Party every
single year of our 42 years of marriage. She redecorated every
single room of our house into the Christmas spirit. For years she
put up two big Christmas Trees and about 4 smaller ones. Her mean
husband only allowed her one big Christmas tree after she became
ill. The Christmas Eve of 2007 we had 127 people pass through our
open doors which included 70 rollerbladers, 26 skiers and 9
engineering co workers. We had a lot of good friends help with
Darlene’s Christmas Eve Parties and especially the last few years.
This year of 2008 at Christmas Eve we will have a Celebration of
Life Christmas Eve Party for Darlene. You better believe Darlene
will be with us in spirit and having a grand time. Oh yes,
"helpers", I need your help more than ever this year and every
Christmas Eve afterwards until I’m at least 100.
To everyone who reads this,
this is your invitation to attend Darlene's Christmas Eve
Celebration in 2008 and for many more years to come.
Darlene and I loved to travel. We did 75
trips to over 200 cities all over the world from 1970 to 2007. We
managed Africa, Europe, Ireland, Iceland, Canada, Mexico, Alaska,
Hawaii, the British Virgin Islands, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, the
Bahamas, Cancun, Bonaire, England, Norway, Andorra, Lillehammer,
Russia and probably several more places. Take a day and come over to
view the pictures. You only need to glance at 42,000 or so.
Darlene had a grand time and enjoyed life.
Even though she didn’t actually blade or ski, she was a roller
blader and skier in spirit and was just as important to the skiers
as anyone on skis and to the bladers as anyone on wheels. She had an
enjoyable time entertaining and cooking. Her elegant brunches and
picnics made a lasting impression as one of the highlights of many
of the skate and skiing activities up to the time she passed away.
Thanks to all for the help in her last years of life.
Darlene & Bruce's Christmas Parties |