Goodbye to a friend

We learned today that Mom's friend, Larry Cozzens, passed away on Sunday. The family called Seville to make sure that Mom knew — that was kind of them. I was able to track down one of his daughters this evening and confirm the details. He took a downturn about Christmas time (just after we saw him last) and had been put on morphine for the pain, and weakened pretty quickly. He died very peacefully on Sunday. He had talked to us several times about being eager to be reunited with his wife, so this must be a happy time.

Mom got to know Larry at the Seville, where they both lived and became acquainted. Larry lived in Wyoming most of his life and worked as a policeman. But as his health became more fragile, his two daughters (who live in this area) moved him down to be closer to them.

He used to encourage Mom to get out of bed more and walk for exercise. When the weather was good (and while she was more active), he would come in the morning and knock on her door to get her moving. She recalls that much of the time when they walked, he got impatient with her slow pace and walked on ahead. But he still did a lot to help get her moving more. And when he was tired or not feeling well, she would check on him and encourage him. They developed a supportive and positive friendship.

Larry used to walk with a cane, and was quite unsteady. He fell and injured himself a few times, breaking his arm and then his leg and hip. When he was in the hospital or rehab center, Mom would miss him, often going down to his apartment to check on him (forgetting he was not there). Eventually, after his last accident, the family had to move him to a care facility where he could get more rehabilitation and nursing care.

Mom loved to visit Larry and would ask me to take her every couple of weeks. It was sometimes an ordeal to get her into the truck and there, but she "lit up" when we arrived in his room and did a great job encouraging him. Her goal was always to make him laugh or smile, and she always succeeded, even when he was having a hard day. She is such a natural at caring and helping; some of that seems to be left over from her days as a first grade teacher. It's fun to watch her assume that role. Our visits usually didn't last very long, but they were definitely worth the effort.

Mom seems to be taking the loss pretty well. It helped that there had already been the separation of him moving away; if he had still been living at the Seville, I think it would have been much more difficult for her. But she does say regularly, "I'm going to miss him!" I know she will. She's lost a number of men in her life, and I don't think it gets easier.

Here are a couple of videos of some visits we made in December 2007:







ADDENDUM:
I found this obituary in the Cody Wyoming Enterprise newspaper.