HONOR THY FATHER

King James Bible:

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land
which the LORD thy God giveth thee."
Journal as posted on Facebook by Connie Baxter Marlow, with photographs.

Jack Baxters Last Year October 15, 2014

October 8, 2015
Plus Interment/Gathering - Maine 10.24.15 & final gathering of caregivers in
Loveland - 3.11.16
3.11.16. Dad's would be 96th birthday. A gathering of caregivers and friends at
The Hillcrest. 4-5:30 pm. Carrying on the bonds made and love shared. Happy
Birthday Dad, wherever you are!! You left behind a legacy of laughter, kindness
and flexibility with your years at The Hillcrest. A blessing to us all, and a lesson in
grace during end-of-life. Here's a slide show: http://bit.ly/JacksFinalYearYT
1.8.16 Full circle - return to Loveland to reconnect with Dad's caregivers - two
favorites J & J Team - Jennifer Edwards and Julie Bowden, as well as the staff at
Hillcrest where we lived for a full wonderful year. Strange to be back in Loveland
without my daughterly duties of caring for Dad.
10.24.15 Family and friends gathered at the Baxter plot at Pine Grove Cemetery,
Brunswick, Maine to bid farewell to Dad. http://bit.ly/InspiringWordsJLB.
Remembrances of a life well-lived - the father, friend, grandfather, great
grandfather, uncle, neighborhood dad, businessman, public servant,
photographer, husband, golfer, skier, hunter, world traveler who inspired us all to
carry on. And carry on we shall.A grand weekend of lobstah, bonding amongst
cousins, laying the groundwork for the future without the glue that kept us
together until now. Brother John (Randy)now the patriarch as the oldest remaining
male. Here's Dad in a nutshell: http://bit.ly/JLBObituaryKF
10.14.15 Life after Death. Things move quickly once the transition has occurred.
Hospice comes and takes care of things. We had a beloved Hospice nurse Darrel
Fox who was on call that day. Dad liked Darrel alot. It was good for Dad to have a
male caregiver, something he had never contemplated before. The mortuary
people were thoughtful and professional and Dad was cremated in his favorite
fuschia cashmere sweater. Dad has returned to the pine tree state (which is the
nickname for Maine) already, in a pine box urn with a mountain scene and pine
trees - a scene where his spirit found peace in life. We get to drive him to Maine
for an October 24 interment and celebration. Wonderful gathering for him at
Hillcrest with some great stories by caregivers and staff! One learns things from

non-family that one might never have known! Dad was loved and considered a
"sweet guy." Not exactly the adjective people from his past would use to describe
him. His smile and sense of humor was with him to the end. Hoping he's enjoying
the Iranian whorehouse in the sky with the 74 virgins! Doubt if he'll be missing life
on earth if one indeed creates ones own reality.
10.9.15 Mini Obituary: Jack was born on March 11, 1920, the 8th generation of
Baxters in Brunswick, Maine. The Baxters were known for their philanthropy and
public service in political office as governors and mayors in the 1920s. Jack
graduated Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Bowdoin College in 1942 after
attending Deerfield Academy. The day after his graduation he married his high
school sweetheart Alice Comee. They settled in Pittsfield, Maine and raised three
children Randy (John) (b.1943), Connie (b. 1946) and Judy (b.1955). Jack became
president of the pioneering family food processing business H.C. Baxter & Bro,
and was Majority Leader of the 100th Maine Legislature as well as Vice-Chairman
of the Governors Executive Council before he and Alice, with daughter Judy,
moved to Oregon in 1965 when Jack merged the family business with a food
company in Oregon. He merged that company with and subsequently became
Vice President of the Fortune 500 Company Amfac, and was head of their food
division until his retirement in 1981. Here's more of the story:
http://bit.ly/JLBObituaryKF
10.8.15 Dad passed peacefully this morning after a life well-lived and a passing
well orchestrated. We will be celebrating his life in Maine on October 24 where he
will return from whence he came and join my mother and his family in the family
plot in Brunswick.
10.7.15 Dad was thrilled to have sister Judy, Randy and me there with him. A
joyful thumbs up from us all. A bit of wine (with sugar) lollipop from Judy. Many
visitors and teary phone calls from long-time friends, family and people he
nurtured as children in Maine. Many "I love you's exchanged." He's lucid but can't
articulate his words very well. It's the Parkinson's. He can't swallow so hasn't had
anything to eat or drink for days. A little morphine here and there to keep him
comfortable, but still present.
10.5.15 Dad is transitioning for sure this time. Not eating or drinking, but still
JACK. A conscious passing, that's what I was hoping for. No pain, just sleep,
strange dreams, and sweet periods of kindness that tug at the heart - hoping he'll
see folks from the other side - but he doesn't believe that's a possibility...We'll
see. An opportunity for glimpse of emotional intimacy quite foreign to this New
England family where feelings and emotions were minimized.
10.1.15 My 69th birthday. Dad decided to enter dying mode. "Why don't I just die
and get it over with?" Andrew and I hightailed it from Aspen to Loveland to be
with him after an amazing bday afternoon amidst the flaming aspens on
Independence Pass. He was happy to have us back.

9.16.15 Here's a gift from Dad, he's been singing it lately - An old song for new
times: "What's it All About, Alfie?" "What's it all about, Alfie, Is it just for the
moment we live, What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie, Are we meant to
take more than we give, Or are we meant to be kind, And if only fools are kind,
Alfie, Then I guess it's wise to be cruel, And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie,
What will you lend on an old golden rule, As sure as I believe there's a heaven
above, Alfie, I know there's something much more, Something even non-believers
can believe in, I believe in love, Alfie, Without true love we just exist, Alfie, Until
you find the love you've missed you're nothing, Alfie, When you walk let your
heart lead the way, And you'll find love any day, Alfie, Alfie." Written by Burt
Bachrach.
8.28.15 Dad's fully recovered from his bout with dying. He's all systems go for
another round of living. There's corn growing outside his window from feeding the
ducks, a murder of crows come around regulary (or maybe it's a conspiracy of
ravens?). Corn is what put the Baxter brand of canned goods on the map, along
with frozen french fried potatoes. Funny there's corn, ducks and crows right out
his window. He used to shoot ducks and crows, I call it redemption... A fine
example of life in a conscious loving universe!
8.4.15 Today Dad went on oxygen. He sang this song to Jennifer Edwards, loving
caregiver and me: "Show me the way to go home. I'm tired and I want to go to
bed. I had a little drink just an hour ago and it went right to my head. Wherever I
roam, on land or sea or foam you'll always hear me sing this song. Show me the
way to go home."
7.26.15. I returned from 3 weeks on the East Coast to a greatly reduced Dad, who
may be in the final dying time. We'll see how it unfolds. Very, very tired now.
Ready to go, but maintaining...
The Eagles have landed! Chainsaw Mama brought an Eagle/America sculpture to
our front yard out of a large stump. Is this a sign? Our First Fifty Years project is to
bring America into its highest potential that the eagle symbolizes, and my
ancestors were players in the unfolding of the vision of freedom that America
promises.
Springtime in the Rockies! Easter at Chez-Jack.
Link to FB album for March 6 95th Bday Celebration http://bit.ly/JLB95thBdayFB.
Link to 95th Bday celebration Vid: http://bit.ly/JackBaxters95thYT. Marilyn Monroe
came back to wish her friend Blacky Jack a Happy Birthday!!
We had a grand opening reception for Dad's photo exhibit! Thursday Feb 5, 2:30
at The Hillcrest. The show will hang as long as Dad hangs in. Folks are enjoying
his photos of people in-the-moment from 50 less frequently-visited countries.

It's 2015 and Dad's hanging in. I'll be posting some of his photography taken
around the world over several decades. Here's a link to our "Rhythms of Creation:
Impressions of Indigenous Peoples of the World" photo exhibit - Three Generations
of Baxter Photographers (Dad, daughter Alison Marlow and me + Andrew
Cameron Bailey: http://theamericanevolution.com/photo.htm.
JACK IS BACK! Celebrating Thanksgiving with champagne, building leg muscles,
walking to get the mail. A new lease on LIFE!
Living and dying - a fascinating dance! I have wished for this time with the intent
to experience life more fully through the bitter-sweet end-of-life process. My
impatient, controlling, type-A father has become an impish boy with a twinkle in
his eye and a ready grin, going with the flow as frail old age and mild Parkinson's
change his parameters for day-to-day living.
I got the call that Dad has entered the "end of life" phase of his adventure on
earth. I flew back to Colorado on in mid-October from New England to be his 24/7
companion with lots of help from professional caregivers and sibs Judy and John
(Randy). I've been looking forward to this final gift from a father who has "been
there" for me even after I departed from his left brain paradigm in the early 90s
and he has never understood a word I have said since. Even got him out for a
stroll on a magnificent warm fall day (reminiscent of Maine where we hail
from),during which he got to see two loves of his life - horses and mountains.
Yahoo!! I got to take my mother through her last few months. What a gift, what a
treasure! Thanks Dad and Mom! (Honor thy father and thy mother...).Andrew
Cameron Bailey joined me after completing our responsibilities in New England
and our The First Fifty Years project, as well as his family on Long Island. Also a
link to a vid I did on Dad's life for his 90th bday:
http://bit.ly/JLBaGoodLifeSoFar90thYT
Wondering where the phrase "Honor thy father and thy mother" came from, I
googled it. It's one of The Ten Commandments - and it carries a promise with it!
King James Bible
"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land
which the LORD thy God giveth thee."