Mr. Albert Keimel

Albert Keimel has now passed on and will be able to rejoin his one and only wife Josefine Keimel up in the heavens above. His “Fini”, nickname for mom and he can now be together again. He has been missing her for the past twenty years and now they are reunited.

They will both be up above watching over me now as they always have.

“My Angels”

Love Forever,

Gabriele

IN MEMORY OF A GREAT MAN ALBERT KEIMEL

To Albert life was pretty simple, do what's right, follow your heart, be honest and truthful, try not to be too stupid and your life should turn out o.k. He saw the world as a pretty black and white place, there was a right way and a wrong way to do things and not much in between. Naturally, this point of view led to a great many animated discussions around many a table regarding the world according to Albert versus the world according anyone else.

He had a funny way of giving advice, because he must've known we wouldn't listen anyway, he would bring us books to read. Doctor Laura Schessinger was one of his favorite authors giving pearls of wisdom regarding life, love, relationships and how not to screw things up too badly. He also tried to enlighten us about the latest and greatest alternative therapies to keep our bodies as well as our minds "heltsy" as he would say. Now, I guess I'll have to read them. He loved nature and the great outdoors and reveled in it his entire life. He saw great beauty in things we busy people tend to overlook trees, mountains, lakes and streams. A sunny day, a breath of fresh air, a good walk, a good sausage, a good beer, a good talk, a good friend, a good family. His entire family history is documented at home in books, photo albums and keepsakes which he meticulously compiled.

He loved going back to his Germany where he visited with a large extended family which stretched from Blomberg to Munich. I feel very fortunate to have gone back there with Gabriele so I could see firsthand his love for his heritage and homeland. He was so proud of all things German. We went to a huge family gathering in Hilguertshausen of 200 or more relatives where I was introduced to everyone as the husband of Gabriele and was welcomed into the family. At the end of the hall hanging on the wall was an old picture of the original couple from which this entire hall of people had sprung. The sense of family and history was overwhelming and he was so proud of it all.

He was much more sentimental than I had thought. He always tried to play the gruff tough guy, he said pets were useless, a waste of time and money and yet they would always go to him. Even our cat "Lonely" who is scared of his own shadow saw through the facade and knew the man underneath, he always had time to talk to them or give them a scratch or a pet. Animals always seem to know who's good or bad. Like our dog who always knows who the bad guy is on TV, they all knew Albert was the good guy.

Albert had a heart as big as the great outdoors he loved so much, always there to lend a hand no matter what time of day or night, never complaining and never asking for anything in return, although a good home cooked meal was never refused. I swear that man had food radar because when Gabe and I lived in Sidney as soon as the food came off of the barbeque he'd show up "Ja, what’s for supper?" and all eat. And he would tell us how screwed up the world was, present company was sometimes excepted, but not always. And we’d argue for a while, and he'd be very happy to have caused such a ruckus, and it would be over and everything would be as it should be. He was right and everyone else wasn’t.

I never got to meet Gabriele's mother Josefine, I wish I could have, although she probably would have put the run on me right away. But she must have been an incredible woman to have garnered such devotion from a man like Albert. He cherished her memory like no one I have ever met before, he never forgot her, never replaced her and always loved her as his "one and only”. He had no interest in anyone else after her passing, he devoted his life to her and loved her till the end. Now I hope he has her back again because he's been waiting a long long time.

Now I have my "one and only”, his lovely daughter Gabriele, the apple of his eye, a little piece of Josephine to cherish and protect and care for as he did forever and ever till my end comes. Maybe he went a little overboard sometimes, like the time he called the Police because "she wasn't home to meet him at precisely 3 o'clock like she said she would so something must be terribly wrong and you must go search for her right away!"Albert always meant well he never wanted to hurt anyone, he was sometimes misunderstood by the very people who should have taken the time to try and understand a little harder. But, such is life, we’re always too busy until it's too late and now sadly it is. So now I have a huge responsibility as Albert has entrusted me with his most precious daughter who he loved with all his heart and I know she loved him the same. I hope I am up to the task because now there's no one at the other end of the phone who she could always talk to and count on, her daddy Albert.

They were always together you see, in Pacific View in Kitsilano where I met Gabriele, they both lived in the building and were always in each other’s lives. Gabriele told me that prior to her mom passing away they were both given instruction to always take care of each other. So naturally when we moved to Sidney Albert followed. When Gabriele and I had to move back to the mainland it was very hard for Gabriele to leave and I am sure it wasn't easy on Albert either. But he made some very good friends in "Blue Waters “where he lived and seemed genuinely happy there. I wish they had more time together. I wish we had given as much of ourselves to Albert as he tried to give to us. I wish we weren't all such square heads. But we are.

Maybe we should now take a moment to try and listen to what Albert was trying to tell us, keep it simple, don’t complicate your life with too much crap, take advise from those who offer it, be true to your heart and beliefs, take some time to smell the flowers, look out the window, pet a dog, love your wife, hug your kids, take a deep breath and try to live a good life, because it's the only one you get. And as we see here today it can end unexpectedly. I only hope I can be as good a man as Albert Keimel was. He was the most honest, trustworthy, giving and honorable man I have ever met. I would trust him before all others and I feel honored that he allowed me to marry his daughter. He will be sorely missed, always loved, and never forgotten. He was a Great Man Albert Keimel.