Rocci

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” - James 1:5

An old high school friend of mine passed away last week.  I hadn’t seen him since, well, the summer after high school.  About 100 years ago.

He was a cancer survivor, but ultimately he could not survive what it took to overcome the cancer.  The various treatments took a terrible toll on his body, and a month ago, after yet another stay in the hospital, he put himself into hospice care.  If I remember correctly, he made a statement to the effect that he needed to take quality of life over longevity of life at that point.

Rocci and I, as older wizened adults, had little in common.  He held many opinions that simply that I did not agree with.  I always thought that as we got older, we got more conservative.  I certainly have.  Rocci flagrantly bucked that trend.  I called him my Facebook provocateur; his posts frequently amazed and irritated me…sometimes though, they made me think and evaluate why I disagreed with him.  That was never a bad thing.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”  Maybe I’m not so sure how wise Rocci always was; he probably thought the same of me.  But it seems that he made a decision soaked in wisdom when he went into hospice care.  And seemingly handled it with a grace that I can only pray to muster when my time comes.

I’m praying for Rocci’s family.  But I’m also praying for wisdom.  And depending on grace for all involved.

Rocci is missed.

Here is a link to his obituary, which he wrote just prior to his death....