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Wednesday, June 22, 2005


Lisa and Joe Posted by Hello

Margaret Posted by Hello

Norman Posted by Hello

Norman, Catrina, and Margaret Posted by Hello

Den's Son Aaron Posted by Hello

Den's Niece Daniele Posted by Hello

Lari's Daughter Nicole Posted by Hello

Lisa and Joe Felin Posted by Hello

Joe's Daughter Lisa Posted by Hello

Tiffany, Aaron's Wife Posted by Hello

Sue Posted by Hello

Chris Posted by Hello

Catrina Posted by Hello

Den's Sister Lari Posted by Hello

Joann, Shelly's Mother Posted by Hello

Shelly's Aunt Kathleen Posted by Hello

Kim, Den's Daughter Posted by Hello

Haleigh, Sydney, Kim, Alyssa Posted by Hello

Shelly Posted by Hello

Evelyn, Den's Mother Posted by Hello

Scott Posted by Hello

Brayden Posted by Hello

Brayden and Jalen Posted by Hello

Leslie and Sue Posted by Hello

Leslie, Shirley, Sue Posted by Hello

Friday, June 17, 2005

You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


Den's obituary appeared in today's POST DISPATCH. Here is the link:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/classifieds/obituaries.nsf/Funeral+Notices/EA67B341E4902BEE862570230020F7AD

Sue has received many, many phone calls and e-mails from people offering condolences. Chris appeared at the door early yesterday morning to be with "Mama" through whatever she needed. Shelly offered to take both Sue and me to have our nails done. And Chris, Shelly, and her relative helper 'elves' are putting together a luncheon for after the service on Monday.

Suzanne and Doug (The Hollensbes) invited us for dinner this evening, but we have had to decline because Scott and family are arriving.

Shirley is in Chicago and will be returning Saturday. I have cancelled my trip this time. Leslie will be coming in Sunday for the visitation and will stay with us Sunday evening.

We have room to put any out-of-towners up at the Oakland House which remains empty.

Aaron and Kim went over to the facility early yesterday and emptied Den's room, a difficult task but a great help. Kim plans to send a plant to the facility staff who were of such support and help through this difficult journey.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


Den passed away peacefully at 3:25 am today with Sue holding his hand. Regina, the nurse at the facility, called Sue at 12:45 am to tell her she should come. Den's breathing had become very labored, and he was getting morphine shots hourly.

The arrangements for the funeral include visitation at Kriegshauser Mortuary, 9450 Olive Blvd, St. Louis, 63132, on Sunday, June 19, from 3:00 to 8:00 pm. The service will be Monday morning at 11:00 am in the Kriegshauser Chapel followed by burial in St. Charles at the Memorial Gardens, Cave Springs at Highway 70.

The family is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Hope Happens Foundation, 7701 Forsyth, Suite 250, Clayton, MO, 63105.

This has been an extremely difficult time for Sue, Kim, and Aaron and for Den's mother who has already lost one son and whose only daughter is recovering from a very serious illness. Please keep all of them in your prayers.

Saturday, June 11, 2005

You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


We had this great e-mail from Brother Pete today:

"Rose i told Joe to put my part of the headstones on the same credit card that he feeds all of those people on. We went to Jacpot yesterday and stayed all nite I did ok Ma did'nt do as well, we had a good meal and a free room. Joe first has to put the sail boar in the bathtub for a test, then he may have to sleep in it. Take care and thanks for the blog we check it every day. Pete"


Already Joe and David's sailboat has paid for itself in fun! Maybe Joe could e-mail us a photo of the vessel and the crew in full naval dress? Also, what is Pepper's (The Mutt's) position in the hierarchy?

In the midst of all this horror, there are wonderful people and events that lighten my days. For example, my time last weekend with Chris and Shelly, the women at the baby shower for Shelle Cullinane, Sabrina and Brett when they hosted me while Dave (with Maddog's assist) was painting the lakehouse. Of course, I am failing to recognize a lot of people because days go by, and we are too busy to stop here to acknowledge all that goes on. It is strange to feel such gratitude in the face of such despair. A lot of this terrible load falls on Kim and Aaron these days. They surely have stepped up to the plate as needed.

This weekend we have out-of-town guests, Shirley's friend Dena and her two children, Jamil and Layla. Dena will leave today, and we will keep the children until Monday. Tomorrow we are invited to Randy and Lynn's for a Bar-B-Q which we are looking forward to.

Friday, June 10, 2005

You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


It's Rose, again with a quick update. The days go by in a blink of the eye, and Sue and I haven't had a chance to sit down together to update.

Catrina had her surgery yesterday, is doing fine, and will come home today.

Den's condition continues to deteriorate. Because he took so many falls in recent days, Sue has now hired a nurse to sit with him overnight to make sure he doesn't try to get out of bed. He has been moved to a private room, has quit eating for the most part, and sleeps pretty much all the time. His situation is grim.

Sue and I made a very quick trip to the lake on Wednesday to meet with her insurance adjuster about water damage to some ceilings. Brother Joe came, with the famous dog Pepper, and had lunch with us. Coming home, Sue and I got into some awesome rain. The trip, which normally takes about 2 1/2 hours, instead took 3 1/2.

Joe, with much encouragement from us, took on the project of collecting family history sufficient to place tombstones at some neglected gravesites. Our paternal great grandparents (Grandmother Felin's parents) and two of their daughters are buried at Welch Cemetery in unmarked graves. Joe had the tombstones made and was to oversee their installation at Welch yesterday. He had wanted to have the stones in place for memorial Day, but the company doing the work missed that deadline. Joe is going to send us a photo when all the work is complete, and we will post it here.

For this project, Joe has incurred expenses of around $850. Sue and I chipped in $200 toward the cause and encourage other Dear Readers who appreciate Joe's efforts (and can afford it) to do likewise. Joe Felin's address is: 801 North Lone Pine, Springfield, MO 65802. He told us he got seasick looking at so many records in mocrofilm format.

And that reminds me that he also told us about his and son David's purchase of a sailboat. Joe and David don't yet have lifejackets, but Pepper (The Dog) does. Joe says he and Captain David Felin will sail the vessel on Fellow's Lake, but Pete says it will be on a local pond.

Joe also told us that Pete had indeed sold his Jeep Wagoneer on e-Bay, a happy ending to a fun story.

Monday, June 06, 2005

You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


Hello, it's Rose with a quick update. I am in Chicago until tomorrow. Much has happened in the days since Sue and I have updated this blog. Our long delay in providing news has been caused by the presence in our lives of Jalen and Brayden. We had them all last week. Chris and Shelly returned them to their dad on Friday night. It was a grand and glorious and utterly exhausting week with the boys. We went swimming, several times to a neighborhood park with great playground equipment, rode bikes, shopped, and just generally wore ourselves out. Jalen and Brayden are two children who are a pleasure to have with us. Both are very attached to Granny and both are very loving and sensitive. Brayden took it upon himself to help administer any meds Sue ever needed, turn off her light at night, love her up spontaneously, and be on his very best behavior. And Jalen! He is one mature seven-year old. When he does act out, he comes out of his 'snit' having learned a lesson which he truly takes to heart. I was amazed that at the music store he was able to read CD covers and tell me all about the music and the musicians.

Besides all that, the news here is not good. Den continues to fail. He sleeps a good deal of the time now, is only comforted by Sue's presence, and hardily eats. His legs and belly are terribly swollen, and there is nothing to do now but make sure he suffers minimal pain. Sue arranged hospice care, starting last week. It's a terrible situation and very, very hard on Sue. She spends as much time with Den as she can. When I return to St. Louis (tomorrow), Sue and I will try to fill in some of the details of the events since our last blog update.
Sue had this loving e-mail from Joe's daughter Lisa:
"School is out and I'm getting caught back up on the blog. Daddy has kept us up on Denny's situation but reading the events as they happened and were posted was very sobering. Our thoughts are with you as you deal with so many things at once.

Joe Felin led the cemetery run on Memorial Day. David was the driver of "Papa's Van" and he drove myself along with Beth and Lydia and of course we can't go anywhere without the mighty dog Pepper! We visited the Northview, Marshfield and Fordland cemeteries. My husband Jack elected not to go with us because he says we spend too much time talking about family history. I thought that was the point!

Anyway on the way home, Dave received a phone call from a lady who was selling her sailboat. Dave and Daddy had contacted her the day before and she wanted to check if they were still interested and to set up a time for them to come by and check it out. Beth, Lyd and I were amused by the conversation that ensued between Dave and "Doe" about the sailboat. Any potential obstacle that one of them raised was quickly shot down by the other so in the end they are now the new owners of some type of craft that will call the waters of local Fellow's Lake home. Daddy will have to give you more particulars but it should be fun to see the two of them on their adventures. Hopefully Pepper will be left at home for these outings!

Take care,
Lisa"
Sue's former neighbor Leslie wrote to say that she and Sam visited the Marshfield Cemetery also on Memorial Day and placed a flower on our mother's grave. When Sue and I read that e-mail, we both teared up. All the small and terribly meaninful kindnesses of friends and family seem to be greatly amplified these days.
Stephanie, Margaret's daughter, called today to say her husband Dan had got a movie Den was wanting to see ("Aviator") and would be going to the facility to watch it with Den. Movies are a passion that Dan and Den share so I hope Den is up to this viewing.
This is a somewhat disjointed entry. When Sue and I are able to put our heads together, we'll try to provide a more coherent one, one accompanied by some new photos.


Friday, May 27, 2005

You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


Brother Pete is selling his 1989 Jeep Wagoneer on e-Bay. This link should take you to his listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4552789712&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1

Good luck with the sale, Pete.

Scott and sons arrived in the middle of the night. So far, Jalen has played with his new Play Station game which he got for his Green Frogs school record. Brayden is glued to his daddy and will have nothing to do with anyone except daddy and Granny.