It's impossible to share what you meant to everyone, because you were just what we all needed. You were somebody to everybody who knew you. You were a husband, a father, a brother, an uncle, a papa, a friend and so much more. You were a fixer- whether you needed help with equipment, needed a set of helping hands, help with a broken toy or help with a broken heart. No project was too big- if you couldn't find the fix you would create it.
You were brilliant. You were the embodiment of "necessity is the mother of invention." There wasn't a problem too big or too small that couldn't be fixed with a little out of the box thinking and hands on education. I laugh to myself when I think of all the things you helped us fix- everything from our television, to tires, to tractors, computers, lawn-mowers, furnaces and more. There isn't anything you wouldn't make work again.
As we work to heal our hearts and slow the stream of tears, I know you would never tell me to buck-up, get over it or not be sad about my hurting heart. In your life you knew real pain and knew the holes such painful loss leaves. Such loss can't be erased, but it can be eased. You wouldn't tell us to move on when we were sad, you would help us work through it and you would tell us a story.
My life is full of adventures with Al Fox...You were there to pull me and the plow truck out of the ditch when I got it stuck last winter. You were there to put a pair of vice-grips under the old diesel shifting cable so I could get home as long as I didn't take it out of gear (and trusted me not to back over you in the process!). You were there to jail-break me from the hospital only 22 hours after c-section and swore to the staff to be my nurse- you gently loaded me in your 3/4 ton pickup, grimaced at every bump with me on the trip, made sure I took my medication and dutifully wheeled me around in a wheelchair so I could be with my baby. You were there to to take grandbabies for tractor and combine rides every planting and harvest season. You were there to captain Canada trips- you knew every bay and every rock better than any map. You were there to take a kid in your boat and sometimes even stayed back to take a break with the kids so Shelby and I could have a quiet boat for a few hours.
I still see you hang your head just a bit and grin from ear-to-ear while shaking your head at the snafoo's I would get myself into for doing the things most 'girls' wouldn't try... but you never cursed me for my ambition- you just smiled, chuckled and helped trouble-shoot the situation. You were there to bring me hunting and learn the Fox farm. I'll never forget the laugh and look on your face as we ran up the hill together after the little buck on the run and as I dropped it while it was jumping corn stalks. You were there for our kids and loved them like your own- learning how to care for them, deciphered medication schedules, feeding pumps and when we were sent home with literal manuals to keep them healthy. You were there to lend a hand and encourage Shelby and I as we chased our dreams of building a home on the farm. You would call to check on me if I wasn't feeling well to see if I needed help with the kids. You helped because that's how you loved and your love was a never ending stream of service. You were there for every appointment, every event and whenever I needed a hand. More often than not, you were my first call. You were there. ...and I counted myself lucky when you needed me there for you... a ride from the field, to grab parts in town, to bring you to an appointment or to turn a key while you worked on getting machinery to start.. and in the end to help hold your hand as you made your way to heaven.
