My brother, Frank, passed away suddenly on Monday night. He was 41 years old. My mother came home to find that he had fallen down the basement steps and died from a blow to the back of his head. It was a great shock.
I never doubted that my brother was a good man. He was the "free spirit" in our family, and spent his 20's following The Grateful Dead and Phish. He loved his 13 year old son, Quentin, more than anything; and my mom second to that. He always had a smile on his face and loved to talk sports, music, and the great outdoors. He was very intelligent and an amazing cook. In my last conversation with him, on Saturday a week ago, I told him he should open his own catering company-he truly was awesome. Pierce says one thing he really admired about Frank was how involved he was in his son's life. He was his baseball and basketball coach, and Quentin was definitely Frank's best friend. In looking at pictures this week, almost all of them were of Frank and Quentin. Even though I feel appropriately tied to my responsibilities, the thing I loved and admired most about Frank was that he had the courage to quit his job and go off in the wilderness for weeks, or follow Phish not knowing where he would sleep the next night or how he would eat. He was an adventurer and found a way to accomplish the things that brought him joy.
We miss him, but I truly believe he is now free to learn the gospel and gain strength away from his addictions. I hope my Grandma Grier, who died 2 years ago, is up there setting him straight! Draven said tonight that Frank is in heaven with Heavenly Father and Nephi-I really liked that.
Please pray for my Mom and Quentin.
