Family

This is what is most important. That's it.

Gary Joseph Albiston

Gary Joseph Albiston, born October 16, 1951, passed away peacefully on May 5, 2010. He was the second child born to Mary Evelyn Cronquist and Gilbert Joseph Albiston. He grew up in the state of Colorado with his two sisters, Gladys and Beverly. After graduating from high school, he served a mission for the LDS church in Pennsylvania. He went to school to become an accountant.
He met his wife, Rebecca, in Washington and they were married in the Manti Temple on December 4, 1973. He was the father of 8 kids: Julie, Laura (Brice), Nathan (Naomi), Spencer (Diane), Ryan (Stephanie), Megan, Jacob, Katelyn, and his bonus boy, Ray. Gary was heavily involved in Scouting and earned his Silver Beaver Award in September 2009. Gary especially enjoyed his work at the LDS Humanitarian Center, where he was the one who told the jokes. He loved the people he worked with and considered them an extension of his family.
Throughout his lifetime he served in numerous callings in the Church and was currently serving in the Young Men’s Presidency. Gary loved the outdoors, his horses, and was looking forward to having another son serve a mission this fall. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca, his 8 children, and 8 ½ grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and 1 grandson.
A viewing will be held Sunday, May 9 from 6-8 pm at Anderson & Sons Mortuary (49 E 100 N, American Fork). Funeral services will be held Monday, May 10 at 11 am at the American Fork West Stake Center (500 N 700 W, American Fork). A brief visitation will be held prior to the service (9:45-10:45 am). Internment will be at the American Fork Cemetery following the services.

Peace at Last

I don't even know how to begin this post. I guess the only way is to just come out with it. My dad and my friend went home this morning at about 2am. He passed away peacefully, and is now at rest. I can't imagine what the reunion with his mother and father must have been like. I also asked Heavenly Father to have a few other people there to greet him - my Uncle Steve and our special little friend Hazel. I can only imagine the joy and happiness that must have been in that place in that moment.

There is a lot of love in this family. There is a lot of peace right now in this family. We've had a lot of angels on this earth that have attended this family through this last trying week. I miss my dad so much that it hurts inside. I called him for every little thing. But I know that he is with the God who created us all.

My heart hopes that all who knew and loved my dad can use this experience as an opportunity to draw closer to that God who created us all. I have no doubt that we have a Heavenly Father who anxiously waits for us to call on Him. He knows us so intimately. I love Him, and am so grateful for that knowledge. I know that we can all have that same knowledge and that God wants us all to know that He lives - that my dad lives.

Lastly, I am grateful for a father who humbly lived his life in such a way that all those who were associated with him knew that he KNEW. It is my hope that we can all honor my sweet father by drawing to closer to our Heavenly Father. That's what he would desire most.

I love you, my daddy.

The Inevitable Outcome

My mom made a very tough decision this weekend. My dad was given a 1% chance to live, and my mom decided that he would never want to live in the state he was in. He was moved to "comfort care only" and we are waiting for what we know must come. My dad has already been called home, and we just have to wait for his body to decide when he is ready.

This is the hardest thing my family has ever been through. We have had our moments, and certainly last night was not one of my proudest. I let anger get in the way of what both my mother and my father needed, and I almost missed out on the very spiritual experience of watching my brother give my dad a blessing of release. It's hard not to be angry at God for what has happened to my dad, but as my little brother said, Satan didn't cause this accident, but he is going to use it to drive us away from Heavenly Father.

It was also pointed out to us last night that Heavenly Father did not prevent this accident either. What that says to me is that this is my father's time to be called to a special mission in heaven, and this experience is all a part of God's plan for my dad.

Thank you for all of the notes on the blog - I read them everyday and they give my family strength. I know some of my friends out there may not have the same belief in God that I do, but please continue to pray for my little family. I am pleading for that. I know God hears our prayers, and even if you don't pray very often to Him, He still hears yours.

Dad has had some rough nights lately. The pressure in his brain has been high, and they've had to treat him with fluids and narcotics, which they had taken him off of. With brain injuries, they don't like to give pain medications because they need to be able to see how the brain responds. Dad hasn't responded yet, and that is somewhat troubling.

They did take the ventilator out of his mouth and did a tracheotomy, and took the feeding tube out of his nose and put a permanent one in his stomach. He is breathing on his own, which is amazing to the doctors. However, his brain is not improving, and that pretty much stinks. We are all hoping for a miracle, but realizing that that miracle gets farther away every day my dad doesn't wake up. Again, it pretty much stinks.

However, the beauty in the situation is that we all feel peace with whatever the outcome will be. If my dad taught us anything, it is that sometimes trusting God is the only thing we can do. I've never doubted that he believed it.