The passing of my brother, Vern (also known as Putzer to many old friends and relatives), has created a great empty space in my life. He was more than brother to me. He was my best and closest friend. Over the past 7 or 8 years I have talked with him almost every day. We had great chats about everything from family to politics to computer problems and, of couse, his family, whom he was very proud of and loved very much. He was always thankful to have such a loving and caring family close by.
My brother was a very kind person, too. At times, he had much that he could have been bitter about, but chose to take the approach that he was very lucky to have what he had and let someone else worry about "what ifs." He never put anyone down, was a good friend to all and was well liked by all who knew him.
Of course, he would get a little frustrated when his health kept him from keeping up his exercise program. He loved to keep trying to improve his stamina, or at least not let it get an worse. He was a great tribute to the power of determination. That is one reason why it is so hard to accept his death. He has always come back from his hospitalizations before, so we all expected him to do the same this time. Unfortunately, it was not to be and we were all shocked when he didn't recover.
I am very thankful to have known him and will always treasure the memories of our visits and his saying, "it must be a Roberts thing."
