A Tribute to My Grandpa

My Grandpa passed away this last Thursday, January 6th, surrounded by his loving family. I am glad we were just back there to visit and Titus and I and my dad went to visit him at the Senior Care facility where he was residing. He really enjoyed Titus and thought he was a "solid little guy" and enjoyed holding him. I have a lot of memories of my Grandpa working hard on his farm and always going to church, he was a faithful Catholic. In some of his last hours my mom was alone with him and she had text me that he was struggling with breathing. His kidneys were shutting down and he had a blood infection and I was wondering if he was feeling fearful in those moments of unknown. The Lord led me to tell my mom to ask the hospital staff for a Bible to read to him and He gave me some chapters in Psalms to tell her to read to him, Psalm 23 and 46. She got to read them to him and she told me that he liked Psalm 23. They said that when the time came he did go nice and peacefully. The following is an excerpt from his obituary that I think shows that dedication he had to his work and his family.

Harry A. Berning

Harry was born on the Henry Berning family farm in rural Galena, on Dec. 5, 1923, the son of Henry and Helena (Kaiser) Berning. He married Joan Peacock on Sept. 4, 1950 at St. Mary's Church and the couple recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
He attended Vinegar Hill School, St. Mary's Catholic School and graduated from Galena High School in 1941. As a lifetime member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, he was an altar server until the age of 26, a member of the St. Mary's Choir for 50 years, the Holy Name Society and parish council. Proving himself to be an innovative farmer, Harry implemented a computerized feeding system for his dairy herd, the first such system in the area in 1972. Always a good steward of farmland, Harry practiced conservation techniques ahead of his time. Harry shared his passion for farming with others through his involvement as president of Jo Daviess Service Company and passed on his love of farming to his children, six sons and one daughter. Harry Berning was a "Ford" tractor man! Having tended to outdoor farm animals all those years on the farm, he more recently enjoyed his special housecat "Sweetie". Harry enjoyed many years of Thursday night bowling league. He and Joan were members of a couple's euchre club for 50 years. In retirement years they spent winters in Zephyr Hills, Fla., where they made new friendships in a variety of activities. Harry loved his family, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As a balance of work and family, he spent many Sunday outings together with his loved ones.
Harry's farewell to his visitors was always "keep a song in your heart and a smile on your face".

Please be praying for my Grandma, I can't imagine how it would feel to loose Tom after just almost 18 months of marriage, let alone 60+ years. Your life companion is gone and you expected to spend the rest of YOUR LIFE with them, hoping you would go before them. It makes me sad for her to think about that.

As for me, I am doing pretty good with it, he lived a very long good life of 87 years. I trust God as a loving and just God. I am just sad for my dad and my aunt Mary in particular out of all the kids. They are whom I'm closest too and I know that I never want my parents to die myself but "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die....A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;"- Ecclesiastes 3:1,2 & 4