I lost my inspiration on Thursday, after a long and hard fought battle with cancer; and though we knew it was coming this has made it no easier to bear. There is so much more I could say of him, but that is for another place. So it will suffice to say, that if I can in my lifetime become half the man he was, I will have done well for myself.
I have been working on preserving some of his legacy, preserving and repairing moulds of many of his busts of military figures decades old, making new ones of others where only a plaster copy, some of them in a poor condition, remain. This I will continue to do as I have still only scratched the surface, and will almost certainly with greater frequency chart this on the blog. It was perhaps my greatest pleasure to have shared and discussed with him the fruits of those labours in the past few months as he lay in bed, to see him smile despite the pain which I know he was in. My only regret is that I did not start sooner so that he might have lived to see more of it. I plan at the moment to post some pictures of much of his work that remains within the family, though I know also there are many examples in the hands of others as far away as the US at least. I also have plans for a little hobby project to help raise money for Hospicecare and Marie Curie amongst other charities, whose nurses gave him and the rest of the family so much care and support in the past few months, and allowed him his wish of remaining at home until the end, dying in the same bed as he was born.
17 comments:
My condolences, Col.
My Condolences
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.
My sincere sympathy and warmest condolences.
My condolences to you and yours.
I am sure he is glad that you keep his passion alive.
Sorry to hear about this loss. My Grandfather died from Leukemia in 2003. He was who inspired me to become interested in military history and model making. I know I still miss him today. I wish you luck in your endeavors to preserve these works.
My condolences Sir.
My condolences.
Sorry for your loss, Rob.
I know when you're ready those busts will turn out to be amazing!
My condolences too, he was obviously an extremely talented individual.
My thoughts go out to you at this time, I lost my father back in 2001 and he was a real inspiration to me, so I understand this lost.
Heartfelt condolences, sir.
My condolences.
My own grandfather was a carpenter, a welder and later in life a repair man for telegraphs, typwriters, and telex machines. Although he was not artistic, he tought me how to build and fix. When he passed, Iinherited a set of special tools he hand crafted for his fine detail work on the machines, and many of them come in handy for my minatuer. I know that when I use thoe tools, I am pasing on the spirit of what my grandfather taught me. I hope you fin the same comfort and connection in your work for years to come.
My best wishes and condolences to you on the passing of your grandfather. From what you wrote of him, he was indeed a formidable talent and a great inspiration; here's hoping your fond memories of him inspire and fuel your own creative pursuits.
This is an excellent tribute. Condolences Rob. I look forward to seeing more of your grandad's work.
My condolences, Col.
Sorry for your loss Rob.
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