Dan Biedler in 1963 and about 1972.
My beloved brother Daniel Van Morgan Biedler, Sr. (1945-2020) died (Nov 13) at 10:24pm Central Time in Tulsa, OK. Thank God, he was able to live with our brother John the last 2 1/2 years of his life so he had lots of help as his cancer progressed. I could post hundreds of photos but shall be satisfied at this time with those I could rustle up quickly from my computer files.
II found these notes (below) just now on the beginning of Dan's illness the day after Dan passed-over.
Dated: August 2018
Brother Dan was just been told that he may have pancreatic cancer. They did a biopsy yesterday and he will get the final results today. They also discovered a large blood clot (in spite of all the blood thinners he has taken since his open heart surgery 10 years ago) on his spleen, which they think may be the result of the pancreas malfunctioning….which is also a common sign of cancer being present. He has been nauseous and in great pain for 3 months but they didn't choose to run all these additional tests until just this week after he checked himself into Emergency for the 4th time in 6 months!!! (All this time they have told him he simply had c-diff ..... which he contracted from being in the hospital in January.)
I am so dumb-founded at how many times the doctors have failed to run additional tests that could have caught this sooner! All I can do is sputter about my frustration!!!! I know I have to choose to deal with reality “as it IS”, not as it “could have been IF….” .
Someone sent me a link to this National Review article. I don't subscribe yet I was able to read it. https://www.nationalreview.com/.../berkeley-free-speech.../
So ironic to read this article at this time since we Biedler Elders were asked about this period in our lives during our recent Family Reunion July 27- Aug 4 (2018) here on the island. We held a session the first morning at our place after everyone had arrived. It was at the request of the younger generation. They wanted to interview / ask questions of the older generation (6 of us counting the 2 mates). During this session, we got our brother Dan (who was too ill to come) on my iPad via FaceTime so he was able to “be present” for the whole two hours, too.
Dan was able to answer questions and hear everyone's responses and watch the family at the same time as his son Craig carried the iPad/FaceBook about the group. This is the aspect of modern technology I absolutely love -- the ease with which it makes interviews and capturing stories possible!!! We weren't sure how long we would hold the younger generation's attention (ages 6-50) but by golly, they went on for two hours! My 15-year old granddaughter taped it all and is going to create a Biedler Reunion YouTube channel for the family and upload it there.
We are still hoping and praying they'll be able to do something to bring him some greater comfort at the very least. Don’t know if chemo will help much. (I do think he has cancer. He has all the symptoms a distant Biedler cousin (whom I discovered in VA 30 years ago) has who was diagnosed in January of this year.)
So wish Dan could move in with us but he can't get the kind of medical care here on this island that he now needs. My simplistic take on life is that when all is said and done, what we always have left in the face of any of life's challenges is LOVE and how we CHOOSE to face the challenge. It's not easy but I think LOVE makes it doable, like childbirth. Yes, the older I get, the more I see end of life challenges like a prolonged childbirth. I choose to believe we are being birthed into the next stage of Life as we age and embrace our passing with whatever grace we can grasp as we inch our way thru the birth canal of Life. So much for my waxing eloquent.
Daniel Van Morgan Biedler, Sr. born 1945
Below, the two girls are Dan's granddaughters.
Dan in the Philippines getting ready to attend the Boy Scout World Jamboree that just happened to bde held them while we were living on Panay Island Jan 1959-June 1060.
Dan with friend in Tanzania with whom he attended the Outward Bound training course in order to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
So seldom saw Dan all dressed up fancy like this while we were living in Tanzania 1963-1964. Don't know where he was headed.
Dan learning about the foods of India while we were living in Tanzania, which has a very large Indian population. He LOVED Indian and other Asian foods the rest of his life!
Don't know what Dad his feeding Dan in this photo!
Below: Oh my, the camping Safari across the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania that Mom & Dad put together for us in first half of 1964!! What an incredible adventure that was!! L-R: Dad (J. Sam Biedler), Mary Biedler (my one year older sister), Mother (Betty Peebles Biedler), Dan Biedler (my one year younger brother), and myself
Dan and I were in chorale together during our high school years at Stow-Munroe Falls High School in NE Ohio. This photo was taken my senior year 1962 (his Jr. year) when I sang "Italian Street Song" from Naughty Marietta. Can you spot Dan? (front row on right with his head cocked to the side)
Who else do you see there that you can ID?
Dan in 1963 and about 1972.
Dan in 1968 in Pasadena, CA
With his three sons at a reunion with Mother in Pasadena in 1988.
By 1947 the two had become six!
The Four Angels about 1952
It just gets funnier and funnier folks! (1957)
The extra male here is Dennis Carpenter,
a family friend. Don't you just love those hats!
My dress was straight from the Thrift Store....a rustling purple taffeta! I LOVED it!
(Purple and Easter kind of go together, right?)
A few years later...
The Four Musketeers in 2011 gathered for our daughter Lori's wedding here onLopez Island.
The Four Elders gathered again soon after Dan has his leg amputated in Sept 2019.
My sister Mary with Dan and Mary's youngest daughter, Amy, the day before Dan was moving into the nursing home in the Tulsa area
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of his old high school football buddies to let them know of Dan's cancer situation, they planned a reunion and all flew to visit him. Wow! He hadn't seen any of them since graduating from high school!
Thank you, to each one of you! That was such an incredible blessing for Dan.
So many many wonderful times and memories!
