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Derek MINTZER Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for Derek MINTZER
2 Entries
Jan Newton
August 11, 2024
I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze,
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch her until she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says: "There! She´s gone!"
Gone where?
Gone from my sight - that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side,
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the place of her destination.
Her diminished size is in me, and not in her.
And just at the moment
when someone at my side says: "There! She´s gone!"
there are other eyes that are watching for her coming;
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout:
"Here she comes!"
And that is dying...
Death comes in its own time, in its own way.
Death is as unique as the individual experiencing it.
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Jan Newton
August 11, 2024
Dear Michelle & Derek Jr,
I'm not certain we have met but I know of you both, your Dad was proud of you. Please know that he touched so many folks, he had a plethora of friends that would come visit him, and he was a good friend to me and many others. I share in your sadness.
Your Dad and I were neighbors in Fountainview for seven years but we were so much more than that, he was my brother, my confidante, and this is a tremendous loss.
Derek would walk down to my place several times a day just to have someone listen to his stories about his beloved Janice. That´s how we became close, I would often ask him about Janice and how he was doing; he would sit on my garden glider and hold my dog, Curley in his lap, and I would sit for however long he wanted to visit and share. Derek and I were both lonely and we would cry and reminisce together: he about Janice and me about my Robert. We managed to fill some of that loneliness by watching Midsomer Murders, Rerun highlights of America's Got Talent on youTube, war films and documentaries, and Ice Road Truckers. We enjoyed surprising each other with a plate of food or a goodie we would pick up while out. He would bring me stuffed potatoes and bangers and mash, or a pound of antipasto from Cacciatore´s. I would bring him chicken and dumplings! Of the things Derek and I did together, one was to watch the Kentucky Derby, and pick our horse as we always needed to agree on it. I would wear a hat of course, but instead of mint juleps, we would have a bourbon. Derek likes the top-shelf stuff, so this was no sacrifice for this rum drinker! We had a plan- if the horse that won the Derby was eligible for the Triple Crown, then we would host a Derby Party complete with Mint Juleps! Following the horse races was the Scripps National Spelling Bee, we would try to spend the last night either on the phone or in person. These were not events that I normally did, these were things that he did with Janice, and it was a way I could help him.
Over the past year, Derek had been going downhill and it was apparent he could no longer live alone so we talked about him moving into my second bedroom. I moved to Largo to an Independent Living Facility; he had visited me here frequently and had dined with me several times. He would call me or message me just to find out what I was eating! We knew we could count on each other and often we did.
This is a profound loss to me and this one will hurt for a long time. Rest in Peace, brother. I know you are dancing with Janice in Heaven right now. (And just for you, brother: "I am aghast that you've left!")
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