Pam’s father, Myron O. Paroubek, passed away this past Friday, February 17th. He was 92 years old.
Readers of this blog will know that Myron had been in failing health for the last 3 years, suffering from Alzheimer’s and other ailments. The immediate cause of death was pneumonia. Myron, a WWII Navy veteran, had been in a VA care center for a few months, but took a turn for the worse a few days ago.
Lorraine, Pam’s mother, had passed away a bit over 20 years ago. Pam has 2 brothers, Larry and Craig, and a sister, Becky. All 3 live in the Midwest.
Myron had requested that he be cremated. A ceremony to inter his ashes will be held Memorial Day week in Merrill, Wisconsin, which is Myron’s home town.
I was not particularly close to my father-in law, who lived a good number of years in Florida after he and Lorraine were divorced. Relations between Myron and his children were strained to a degree, partially because of the physical distances involved, and part as fallout from the divorce. However, things improved when Myron relocated back to the Midwest. Larry, Becky, and Craig were at the hospital during Myron’s last hours.
Myron, who was a Navy machinist during the closing days of WWII, was stationed in Japan after VJ day, and witnessed the signing of the armistice. He had some interesting stories about his time in Japan, the people he saw, and dealing with the aftermath of the war. He worked for most of his after-service life at Trane Company as a machinist and tool-and-die maker. (Trane Company makes air conditioning systems, some of them huge, and they are sold around the world.)
We have a couple photos of Myron with our dogs Blondie and Bru:
Myron and Blondie
Myron and Bru
Myron Oscar Paroubek: 5/3/1919 – 2/17/2012.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Knowing that you were working on your blog as I spoke with Pam on the phone, I waited until it was posted before replying…
Well written — it’s a difficult thing when any family member passes, more so with a parent. Old memories, long forgotten and reconciled are dredged up, sometimes in overwhelming fashion, as I’m far too well aware of (ex-fiance).
I’d come to terms with my father long ago, and become his “caretaker” from a distance (much closer over the past few years). I’ve no stress or regrets, though there’s always that bit of sadness that slowly fades into memory over time…
As siblings, we’re extremely fortunate that there’s no animosity or competition, which is not the case in many families. We’ve been strongly supportive of each other during this, trying time — things like this should bring a family together, and it has…
Thank you for the mention of my (and Pam’s) father’s passing in your blog…