Tribute
For a couple of years we thought you might leave us. It was like watching the sun set and we were powerless to do anything about it. When the darkness came, we felt abandoned! No one can describe the pain we experienced when the sun finally set on January 19, 2021. As one of your grandsons expressed it: “Today the world lost a giant of a man.” Oh, we loved you so, because you first loved us with such deep abiding love.
You were born in a foreign land called Portugal and raised in the wilds of Angola. That was your home. That was where you could sour like an eagle. A land you understood. It was as though God created that land especially for you. Like Livingston, you would have loved to have had your heart buried there – not only your heart but your whole body! Under a baobab tree on a kopje near Bongo Mission. But, alas, it was not to be.
Due to the ebb and flow of human conflicts you had to abandon your beloved land, its people and its way of life. Like Moses, you began your forty years in the wilderness called America. You tried so hard to forget your beloved land and create a new “Africa”. The little paradises. The parcel of land in Georgia; the YO in Texas; Kendahtah in Colorado; the ostriches; the buffalo. But none could quite fill the void that ate at your soul. Africa had left a hole so deep that it could never be filled by anything you found in your wanderings in the wilderness. It was as though you could never brush the dirt of Africa from your bare feet. It was permanently engrained in your soul.
Following in your fathers’ footsteps you became a doctor, not because you had a passion for medicine, but because you wanted to help the people you loved. Like your father, you were a good doctor! Many thousands of people owe their lives to you. None more grateful than those among whom you had grown up in Angola.
You served your fellow humankind so loyally and completely. Never wanting to take credit, never patting yourself on the back. It was as though you couldn’t help yourself. Your generosity knew no limits. A child’s tuition; a single mother who needed to pay their mortgage; a person who couldn’t afford groceries; a grandson who needed a car. The list goes on but can never be tallied. What did you expect in return? Absolutely nothing.
You loved your family! Your wife Leona; your children, Davona, Cynthia and David Jr; your grand-children, Jonathan, Andrew, David III, Michael and Timothy; your great-grand-children, Katelyn and Jillian; and your extended family.
Your offspring loved to visit and you loved to have them in your home. You were not demonstrative in your affection but there was no doubt we were loved. The light shone so bright it could never be shaded.
You touched our lives in ways you’ll never understand. We are eternally grateful for having been a part of your family.
Dad and grandpa, we are heart-broken and grieve your parting. We leave you with these words:
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matt 11: 28, 29.
May you rest in peace until we’re all reunited again.
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