That Friday

Jessica moved in next door to Ray in 2004. She would see Ray sitting at the red picnic table drinking coffee in the morning when the weather was nice. From time to time, he would use his weed whacker to trim back weeds and what little grass was left growing in the yard. He would pull his car out of the garage and drive off to the Safeway store on Mondays. When Ray put his trash out, Jessica would remember it was garbage collection day. For two years, that had been Ray’s routine.

They became friends in 2006 when the 90-year-old neighbor offered to help her move a piece of furniture from her car into her house. She would help shovel his walks when it snowed; he would loan her tools and offer advice on how to fix things. They had a monthly commitment to drive to Longmont and have lunch together at the Country Buffet. They exchanged phone numbers and when she called him, Ray admitted that hers was the first call he had received in months. He came to dinner and shared stories of his life with Edna and Shep and gave her a picture of himself as a young man. She left him food baskets when she knew he was going to be alone for the holidays. He invited her to his home and showed her Edna’s organ and her prized sewing machine.

They walked the two blocks to Pearl Street to watch the Bolder Boulder 10k race Memorial Day weekend in 2007 and again in 2008 carried their chairs to the perfect, shaded spot to watch the race. Ray didn’t want to stay very long, so they made their way home after about an hour.

That following Friday I received a frantic call from Jessica saying that she was worried about Ray since she hadn’t seen him since the race. His car had been sitting in the driveway for several days, not put in the garage as was his habit. There was a package on his front porch and when she knocked, Ray did not answer. A welfare check was arranged with the Boulder Police Department and they broke down the door. Ray was found dead on the floor in his bedroom.

Ray did not want a funeral; few of his family members were alive and he didn’t have close friends.  Nevertheless, Jessica felt that he deserved to be put to rest in a way befitting someone who had served his country and was her friend. She contacted the Department of the Navy to arrange a military service, selected Clergy and invited the neighbors to attend the funeral. It was a beautiful ceremony held graveside on a rainy day.

Ray was 92 years old.