You would expect a sentence to tell you what kind of person he was, wouldn't you? He was a family man, an avid hunter, fisherman, and trapper. He knew more about the outdoors than I will ever know. He traveled to Ireland, Alaska, and many other places people only dream about. He was thoughtful and knew a good laugh when he heard one.
He worked for 3M for 36 years. He climbed up through the organization. By the time he retired he was head of a successful fuel cell program. He believed in the work and the people who worked for him. He retired at the age of 62.
Then in March 2016, he found out he had esophageal cancer. He had most of his esophagus removed. He had his stomach stitched upward so he could eat. He went through the whole ordeal without complaint and determined to beat the cancer. The operation was a success but did not get all of the cancer. From that day forward he endured. He hunted. He fished. He loved life.
But the cancer continued. The cancer never retreated. There was no remission. As the cancer progressed, he could not eat. He lost weight. He had trouble walking. They placed a rod in his leg. He endured. After some time he could not eat, talk, or drink. He finally acknowledged the cancer won on June 20, 2017. However, he would not give death satisfaction until a month later.
Why did this have to happen?
Stan and Sue built a cabin, his oasis. Stan and Sue had a house on a river. Stan had a loving wife. Stan had two kids and two grandchildren. Everyone depended on him.
He also had family outside his immediate family. He was a big brother to me because I never had a big brother. Although I never hunted, trapped, and was a poor fisherman, he never held that against me. He also affected other people outside his immediate family the same way.
You could see how much he affected people with his wake on July 28th and the church service on July 29th. Many people shared grief and stories about his life. I could have shared a story but my feet and my mouth would not move when I had the opportunity.
If he was there to listen then he should have been proud of his accomplishments over his 64 years.
Same question, "Why did this have to happen?"
Perhaps the answer has something to do with the world today. The world today has much hatred, killing, and evil. Maybe, just maybe, God was tired and needed someone to make it appear the world had hope. He needed someone with integrity. He needed someone with a sense of humor. In other words, he needed Stan. What other explanation could there be?
What other explanation indeed. So you see the sentence "Stan Garnsworthy, 64 years old, died on July 20, 2017" should be replaced by "Stan Garnsworthy, 64 years old, was needed and left the earth to help on July 20, 2017".
That is the more accurate sentence. Stan will always be in our hearts and we will always need him to be with us. We can take some solace that Stan was needed by a higher power. We just hope the higher power appreciates him as much as the people who knew him through July 20th appreciated him.
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