We Lost a Good One

Our neighbor Don Pratt died on Saturday. 

It was a sad day. He was 85 and in pretty good health. His wife, Gloria, is a good friend of mine. She's my yogurt buddy. We, along with Cathy Voorhees and Jenn Coxson, go out to yogurt every month. We've been doing this for 2 or 3 years.

Anyway, on Saturday morning, Don was walking up the basement stairs, carrying some shelves that were in his workshop down there. I guess he lost his footing. He fell backwards, down the stairs and fractured his skull. He never regained consciousness and died 3 hours later. I went to visit with Gloria after the Saturday evening session of stake conference. She is doing as well as can be expected. The funeral was yesterday and it was beautiful.

President Livingston said something that really stuck with me. "The veil is just a veil; it's not a wall." He said that a couple of times. What comfort. I will visit with Gloria again tomorrow or Saturday to see how she's doing. 

She and Don had been married for 25 years. This was a 2nd marriage for both. Gloria had been widowed young. She was only 27 when her husband drowned in a motel pool as they were going across country for a job. There she was, in the middle of nowhere, with 3 little kids. She came back to Salt Lake and raised her family there. Don's wife died of cancer, I believe. He was recently widowed when he met Gloria. They were in the same stake. Gloria had known Don's first wife through stake callings. Anyway, Don was on the high council and Gloria was a secretary to the stake. That's how they met. Together they served a mission in the Korea temple. They served in the SLC and Timp temples. They have travelled quite a bit, most recently taking a spur of the moment trip to California to see the Rose Bowl Parade. Gloria's so glad they did. What a great couple. A great life lived.

Don always smiled. My dad liked to tease him and speak Swedish to him. Don served in Stockholm at the same time as my uncle Deck. Don would remind dad that he didn't speak it anymore. He was a sweet, sweet man. He will be missed. 

How can you not just love these two? This picture is SO Don and Gloria!