Joseph M. Done

This morning around 6:00 AM, my brother-in-law, Joe, died. For 20 years he had fought a hard fight against a disease that ravaged his body until it finally took his life. It began as a little tick in his head after the accident that took his beloved daughter Donna Lynne's life. It slowly took away his ability to walk and stand and talk. He sat could no longer eat or do anything that he wanted to do. Yet, he still managed to endear people to him with his intellect and wit.

One of the things that Joe could still do until recently was type on the computer. He did a lot of genealogy work on my mother's side of the family. And, he wrote on his blog. One day, after I had started blogging, he wrote on my comments area. I was so excited to find that he had a blog, too. Then, he had some trouble with the blog, but it was exciting for me to have someone else out there to read my blog and someone who always wrote interesting things on his for me to comment on. He never wrote silly, trivial thoughts, but always deep, thought provoking ideas that gave me pause to consider.

Joe and my sister Sandi were married back in the 60's, when I was a little girl. He has been a part of our family for so long that it is hard for me to remember when he wasn't there. After they were married, my brother Fred and my younger sister Audree would get to go and visit for a week or two during the summer months. We would stay with Sandi and Joe and also with Donna (another sister) and after she was married, her husband Steve. We used to tease Joe about ankles because they grossed him out. He love the outdoors and we could always plan on having a nice outdoor picnic somewhere while we were there. Whenever Sandi and Joe were coming to visit, my mom would make corned beef and cabbage for him and also tacos. For a skinny guy, Joe could really pack away my mom's tacos.

Joe's favorite book was Goethe's Faust. He always carried a copy with him. I studied it for one semester at BYU, so we had some good discussions about it. Mostly I just listened to him because there was no way my mind was ever going to keep up with his, and I learned so much from him. We discussed many other works of literature as well.

The doctors never could decide if Joe had ALS or MS or something else. He lived longer than anyone else ever has with either one of those diseases. I think his love and worry for his family is what kept him here for so long. I wonder if they realize the depth of that love and worry and the depth of his faith in his Savior, Jesus Christ. His love for them has always been so unconditional. It makes me weep when I think of the pain and struggle he has gone through for so long and how much I will miss those little emails and blogs. It gives me peace to know that now he is with his dad who died when he was two, his step dad who he knew all of his life, and mostly with his Donna Lynne who he has missed all of these years. I am happy for him because he deserves peace and comfort at last. I love you Joe. I will see you again.