December 28 now joins a sad list of dates that I remember
with tears: January 10, the day both my Dad and Ian Poole died; January 19, the
day Jan Palach died; November 21 and 22, when my Mom and President Kennedy
died; December 7, Pearl Harbor Day.
Today, December 28, 2015, my dearest friend -- my best
friend for fifty years – died in Richmond. Don Dale passed away, apparently of
a massive heart attack. I am stunned and immensely sad. My last email to him
was a little before noon today; he likely never saw it. I called and left a
message last night; he did the same. I thought we’d talk later today.
Instead, we’ll never talk again.
I was sixteen when I met Don; we celebrated fifty years of
friendship this past September in Richmond, where, save for an Air Force stint in
Germany, he always lived. I am so glad we had that party!
As I said in the blog post about that festive evening, we
had grown closer over the years. We emailed daily, often several times a day.
We talked on the phone less frequently, but still often. We traveled together
and I visited him in Richmond.
The size of the hole in my life is not yet clear. Already I’ve
thought of half a dozen things I wanted to share with him. As I write these
words I know that he, my most faithful reader, will never see them. I am sad
beyond description.
But we did have fifty years. I will forever be grateful for
that.
I love you, Don.
Very, very sad to hear this, but I wanted to thank you for going to the trouble of notifying the Copyediting mailing list; it was very kind of you. Don will be sorely missed.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome. Any friend of Don's, cyber or otherwise, is a friend of mine. I too love words and Don shared many of your discussions with me.
DeleteI am so sorry for your loss. Like Nina, I'm a longtime member of CE-L, and Don was a fixture there since before I joined, which is well over twenty years ago now. It was a delight to read his messages, and we had more than a few offlist conversations. He was a true gentleman, and will be sorely missed by many.
ReplyDeleteI am so sad to hear this. I met him a few times on visits to Richmond and always enjoyed his company, online and in person.
ReplyDeleteYet another CE-L member who will be missing Don's thoughtful and intelligent contributions to our community as well as his kindness and sense of humor. Our off-list exchanges covered topics ranging from cats to Dumbledore, and a message from him was always a bright spot in my day. My condolences to you. Peace.
ReplyDeleteDon was a treasure. I knew him from Copyediting-L, and we had many offlist conversations. I had always hoped to meet him in person. Condolences to everyone who ever met him, in whatever manner, because to know him was surely to love him.
ReplyDeleteDon was a treasure. I knew him from Copyediting-L, and we had many offlist conversations. I had always hoped to meet him in person. Condolences to everyone who ever met him, in whatever manner, because to know him was surely to love him.
ReplyDeleteAs a member of Copyediting-L, I too had the pleasure of reading Don's thoughtful and witty contributions. His passing is a loss for all of us.
ReplyDeleteEsther Hecht