Yesterday my family lost a great man. My Papa King. Leonard Wendell King Sr., my daddy is Leonard Wendell King Jr. Papa King was a funny man! You could always hear his laughter over everyone else's. That says alot because we are a loud bunch. He was an honest man, he said what he felt and meant what he said. Some of my favorite moments with Papa were our monthly phone conversations. He would always call me once a month to catch up on life. I loved our chats, stories, and laughter.
He had ALS :Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a-mi-oh-TROH-fik LAT-ur-ul
skluh-ROH-sis), is a serious neurological disease that causes muscle
weakness, disability and eventually death. ALS is often called Lou Gehrig's
disease
He has been dealing with this disease for about 2 years. It took his voice from him first. It was difficult for everyone to adjust to this because if you knew him he loved to talk, share his stories, his jokes. Slowly it was taking over his body, but being the stubborn man that he was he still managed to keep everything as normal as possible. Hospice visited Papa rather than him going to doctor appointments. He loved his home, his land, and Grandma Nancy being by his side. He was beginning to lose control but the one thing he was able to control was his HOME. Family visited, he got to sit in his favorite chair and be right where he wanted to be. My papa passed away with my Grandman Nancy and Uncle David by his side. Later the whole family went to say goodbye.
Even through Papa living with this disease he made the decision that after his death he was going to donate his body to science to help get more of an understanding of this aggressive disease.
I know he is in a better place now, but we will still miss him dearly. He truly was one of a kind. Just typing this makes me smile because all my amazing memories of him are running through my mind. Love you Papa King
