Donald Martin Obituary

I work at The Meadows. I was privileged to know Don.
I just shared these memories of him on a second-cousin´s post, as Lita mentioned she was making a dish for his funeral.
My thoughts about Don:
Oh I loved Don.
I walked into his room one afternoon while he was a resident in HC.
There he sat on his bed. He was wearing a wool cap -and his arms were drawn around his legs. I paused and smiled, as he struck such a youthful pose.
He was so happy and talkative. He asked me if I would like to "sit a spell" and listen.
Thanks to him I got to time travel, experiencing his youth growing up in Belmore. He remembered it all in technicolor.
His hometown was a busy, well -maintained community dotted with churches and community buildings. He shared details I´ll never forget: the way the light filtered through the cut glass window in the house his family rented. He recalled running home from school -and dropping his bag to play a quick game of ball.
In all of his musing there was this wonder about the beauty of it all...and disbelief over how quickly life unfolds.
As he spoke I felt in his words a palpable longing for what was. Some of his thoughts were powerful commentaries on the swift passage of time and the importance of a simple, humble life.
He told me about his life in the military, about his beloved wife, about his children, and grandchildren. He shared his homesickness for a daughter he lost.
I left his room feeling so blessed to have been the recipient of so much color, history, and wisdom.
His last thought was powerful. "I´m old now, but I feel like I´m the same person I always was."
I remember telling some of his family members how much I appreciated him.
I dropped in on a number of occasions over the following weeks.
What I experienced that one day was a gift: a storyteller generously opened his heart and invited me in.
Don was funny, wise, devout -just an incredible human.
I hope Heaven is like the streets of that long-ago town. I hope the sun hits the cut glass just right, refracts- and throws magical patterns on the floor.
I hope he is reunited with those he missed so much. Every detail and truth he shared is now in my heart and memory.