Richard L Isaacson

I'm Free

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free. I’m following the path God laid for me. I took his hand when I heard him call, I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day, to laugh, to love, to work or play. Tasks left undone must stay that way, I found that peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void, then fill it with remembered joy. A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss; Ah yes, these things I too shall miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow. My life’s been full, I’ve savored much, good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my times seemed all too brief, don’t lengthen it now with undue grief. Lift up your heart and share with me, God wanted me now; “He’s set me free.”

Richard (Dick) Lee Isaacson – Some Information

(Prepared by Richie and Virginia Cunningham)

Dick Isaacson, 74, of Shelton passed away February 4, 2012. He was born on April 21, 1937 to Arthur and Marie (Douglass) Isaacson. His surviving sisters, brother and their spouses are Driscilla & Al Ramberg, Marilyn Swanson, Virginia & Richie Cunningham, Gary & Donna Isaacson. A Graveside Service is to be held at 11am on Monday, February 13, at Mills and Mills Memorial Park, Olympia, Washington. He is to be buried alongside his parents.

Below are snippets of information about Richard Lee Isaacson – “A Beautiful Soul in the Eyes of God”.

• Life was difficult from the start. He was born hydrocephalic with a doctor opinion that his parents might consider institutionalizing him. In the eyes of his parents he was a beautiful child. The first years appeared to be physically painful to Dick and somewhat emotionally difficult to his parents.

• Countering medical opinion, with the support and love of his brothers and sisters, he had a joyful early childhood. His sister Virginia was born two years after him; they became close buddies. Virginia kind of watched over him and protected him. One incident occurred when he was about 5 years old in which he became entangled in a wire fence and tried to push through to no avail. Virginia ran to her mother to report, “Dick is turning blue.” Another incident had them at the dinner table when Virginia warned Dick, “Don’t drink that milk Dick, its pig’s milk!”

• Virginia and Dick were always ready to help their mom. Art had been admitted to the Tacoma tuberculosis sanitarium for treatment. Since it was the war years and gas was rationed Marie had been fretting over her limited visits due to lack of fuel. Virginia and Dick came to the rescue and filled her tank using the very convenient garden hose.

• At age 13 Dick’s life improved measurably as expert medical care including surgery corrected his eye sight.

• Dick grew and developed through grade school and high school, but lacked some of the physical advantages of his classmates. Dick turned these “lemons into lemonade” by ignoring these issues and developing a thankful heart and a sense of humor; something that endeared him to people the rest of his life.

• To his credit Dick had some very close friends and was not afraid to seek challenging experiences. A friend suggested they join the air force reserve. Dick did and while he never got a pilot’s license, under the watchful eye of an instructor, did try his hand at flying an airplane.

• Dick was a willing worker and selected a career in the restaurant industry. He started at beginning level jobs, took specialty classes (i.e. dietician) and worked into all phases of preparing food including being a solo cook.

• As we all know life has its ups and downs. Unfortunately some friendships and with time on his hands he started drinking too much, but that is when Dick first revealed some of his inner strength, his character and his will. At about age 30, after several years of this journey, he decided that was about enough. With that single decision he never touched another drop. Cold turkey as they say with a will that proved his inner strength.

• With the asset of a responsible spirit, Dick lived and worked in several Western Washington communities, bought investment property and eventually became a respected citizen at Ocean Shores, Washington where he lived many years. A hallmark of Dick’s character was his frugality. He lived simply and was quick to ask, “How much will it cost me.” He had little use for credit cards and was quick to ensure that he paid back all debts, financial and social. People respected his trustworthiness. He added to the quality of all communities in which he lived.

• Several years ago (approximately 2006) Dick contracted cancer probably due to a cigarette habit of many years. This required the removal of his urinary bladder and installation of a external urine bag. For the second time in his life he exhibited his extraordinary character and strength of will by accepted this additional burden without complaint and made a decision overnight and never touched another cigarette. He was an amazing guy!

• Virginia continued as a devoted sister and buddy, again becoming very close as he required daily living assistance. While Dick was always faithful in paying his bills, it was Virginia that assisted, ensuring that everything would run smoothly. He was in good hands.

• In 2010 Dick came to live with Virginia and me. His health had deteriorated and the choice was for him was either institutional living or our home. We chose the latter. He became a part of our everyday routine including working around the farm and his health and spirit improved. In addition to other activities Dick and I tried to walk once or more each day which initially could not be more than about 100 yards, but eventually became a daily walk of 1 ½ miles. During inclement weather Dick and I would shift our venue to the large nearby casino to get in our daily walk. It satisfied our need for exercise but also was good as a site for people watching too.

• Living with Virginia and me meant other changes in Dick’s routine; regular church attendance, daily prayer and other similar activities. These activities led to the question of Dick’s baptism. After discussion with Dick’s siblings, Dick was baptized in 2011 at the Easter Vigil at Saint Michael Church. It was truly a memorable ceremony. The Easter Vigil Service ended up being 4 ½ long from 9pm to 1:30am in which, amazingly, Dick was fully engaged the entire time. The entire church enthusiastically accepted him (an unusual age and appearance for a person going through baptism) and he, in turn, personally greeting everyone on their way to communion. The whole event was awesome.

• In farm talk, we could classify Dick as “an easy keeper”. For one, he had a great sense of humor. We laughed a lot at the things he would say. For instance, looking at me steadily one night he finally said to Virginia, in all seriousness, “When is he going home?” He also caught me numerous times as I would ask the question, “Dick, how do you feel?” He would gleefully respond, “With my hands”. Also, Dick was extremely courteous. Virginia usually had the night shift, putting him to bed at 10:30pm and I had the day shift which included 2am and 6am morning calls, to empty his urine bag. Most everything we would do for him, even at 2am, was met with a very strong, “Thank You”. It is amazing the effect these two words can have on a person even in the wee hours of a morning. I learned a lot from Dick. And, finally, Dick was extremely compliant and easy to work with. These three traits, I suspect all stem from his early training and childhood experiences, worked for him throughout his life. He developed long time friends and he generally developed friendships in the community where he lived (i.e. the clerks at the local bank would balance his checkbook for him and clerks in local stores would greet Dick happily and knew him personally).

• Dick’s health was an issue, particularly the last 3 or 4 years. In the last two years his strength both physically and mentally markedly improved, but if he got an infection they plummeted like a rock and he might not even be able to sit up. The day of our big snow storm (nearly 20 inches), Wednesday January 18th was one of those days. When he went to bed he seemed relatively strong and in good health. The next morning when Virginia went to his room she discovered he had fallen and unable to get up. He was put in a chair, but clearly he needed assistance beyond our capability. For the next 2 ½ weeks he rotated between the ICU at Mason County General Hospital and Shelton Heath and Rehabilitation Center depending on care needed. His infections took their toll and he died at approximately 3am Saturday February 4th. We will miss him, but he is in a better place now and I am sure absent of any of the physical problems he experienced in this life. Keep them laughing in heaven Dick, they will love your humor!