My father was laid to rest in May. After a long winter and brief spring of steady decline, Dad passed away from atherosclerosis at age 86 in a Michigan nursing home.

The last few weeks were especially poignant. His building was quarantined during the pandemic, and some residents contracted the virus. Family members could not enter the facility, and he could not leave. Hospice workers kept us updated, and it soon became apparent there would be no bedside farewell.