How To Preserve A Legacy Together

On April 1st, my father passed away. My brother’s said it was the cruelest joke that my dad could have played on me.

I was there when he passed, and I was thankful that I had two days to talk to him. Two days to reminisce and listen to his humor. He would tell the nursing staff when they asked how he was feeling “with my fingers.” Always the card right until the end.

When my family started posting on Facebook about his passing, I was in total amazement at the outpouring of thoughts and feelings from so many people who he had touched in his life. I told my youngest son, Jesse, that to go through life and have people say the beautiful things that were being said was a testament to the person he was.

I also decided that I couldn’t let these thoughts just be lost on Facebook never to be seen again. I had to do something to preserve them. So I did two things.

I created a post of my own, and I invited everyone to an album on my FOREVER account called Harvey Thompson Remembered. In this account, people can upload their photos of my dad to the album. This will be a great way to get all the pictures from cousins and friends that they have that I may not have seen. Actually, not just photos, they can also upload any videos. I also explained in my post that if they had a story to go along with the pictures, they could forward it to my email, and I would update the photos with the stories.

I’ve also started a word document and copied and pasted all the lovely comments that people wrote about my dad. As I said above, it’s not often that we hear how we’ve touched the people in our lives it says a lot for what a kind and funloving person he was and how he was loved by many. To bad my dad didn’t get to see them, but this way, I can preserve them for generations to come.

With the comments, I can create something that can be added to the account. Then once I have all the photos and stories put together, I can create a book if I want and give it to my sons, brothers, nephews, and my niece.

Thank you for reading this. So what about you? Do you and your cousins have family photos that you could share and enjoy together? Or perhaps your children are part of a sports team, or maybe you are. How about that vacation you went on with your friends? Or the Family Reunion you have? Why not set up an album in FOREVER where everyone can contribute and enjoy the photos together.

6 Comments

  • Sunny L. Williams says:

    I’m so very sorry to hear about your father passing. However, I think him passing on April 1 was probably a wonderful thing for him to do. If he was such a card as you say (“with my fingers” – I love it, my husband says the exact same thing), then he planned it that way. Think of all the wonderful times you had with him and all the things you can pass along to your son. Honestly, our families are the thing we turn to no matter what is going on in our world. Blessings for you and your family. I know you miss him, my dad and mom have been gone since Nov, 1999 and Aug 2000 and every time feels just like it was yesterday. God bless you. Write down your memories and keep them. That’s the way your grandchildren will find out about your dad.

    Sunny Williams ([email protected])

  • Paul Woodrow says:

    Ellen:

    I’m so sorry to hear about your father’s death. I know it must have been hard on you, being away, then isolated before you could see him. Thankfully you were able to visit him, however briefly. I’ve transcribed all the sympathy cards I received after my mother passed away – such nice comments.

  • Bonnie Belza says:

    Ellen, I’m so sorry to hear this, it’s good to know you got to spend those days with him. If you want to chat or need help with anything, let me know. Hugs

  • Joyce young says:

    Please accept my condolences