It has now been over 6 months since Jett’s passing. That hardly seems possible. But those six months of grief have been compounded by the deaths, in just the past two months, of four men who were significant in my life.
Dick Vogt was a herpetologist who lived and worked in the Amazon jungle for many years, studying turtles. He died a month ago, a victim of the rampant COVID-19 scourge in Brazil. I met Dick in kindergarten and went to school with him for 13 years. He was a participant in my very first hosted birthday party – I believe on my 6th birthday. He lived about a quarter of a mile from me and I visited him in his home many times. Even as a pre-teen he was intensely interested in reptiles and owned several impressive snakes, including, in high school, a 12-foot boa constrictor. I can credit Dick with eliminating my fear of reptiles.
Pete Schmudlach died two days ago. Like Dick, I met Pete in kindergarten. He, too, attended that 6th birthday party. If anyone else was there I don’t recall, so I may be the only survivor of that event. I was good friends with Pete until about 6th grade, then drifted apart. I don’t believe I have seen him since high school. I don’t recall him attending the high school reunions. But Dick was at those reunions. His photo was taken at the 2017 50th-year reunion.
Dan Backman was one of my 13 fraternity pledge class brothers. It was a very close-knit pledge class. He was the first one in that class to pass – something that I hoped would never happen though, of course, I knew that is would, eventually. Dan, like Jett, died of lung cancer. I will attend a memorial service for Dan in June.
Charlie Snell, another fraternity pledge brother – and, arguably, the heart and soul of the group and the reason it was so close-knit – died Friday. He, too, succumbed to lung cancer. He was diagnosed about 3 months after Jett and died 6 months after her.
Four people close to me, all gone in two months. And closely following the loss of Jett, the person who was closest of all.
I knew it, but their deaths remind me that I have a target on my back. No time to waste.
R.I.P. friends.