Archie W.
Mangold Sr.
December 20, 1944
to
December 4, 2000
Dad and Spirit
  My dad was my best friend.  I guess I was what you would call a daddy's girl.  If I ever wanted something or wanted to go somewhere I would ask my dad.  My mom always used to tell us we were like two peas in a pod.  We had the same sense of humor and always found differant ways to pick on each other.

   Dad also had a lot of health problems.  He was a diabetic, he had several heartattacks, a by-pass surgery, and also lost his left foot to diabeties.  Yet with all his health problems he always found a way to go on.  Sure there were those bad days when he would be down on himself because he couldn't do the things he used to do, but they never lasted for long. 

   Dad was a strong man of faith and was very much a people person. It seemed to me as if my dad knew everyone. We would go to a store to pick up a few items and it would be forever before we left because dad would stop and talk to everyone. He did a lot of volunteer work too, he was on a school board and helped open up Good Shepard Lutheran School in Illinois, my mom was also a librarian there, and he did a lot of volunteer driving for the DHS where my mom worked. He would take people to their dr appointments and such. He always cared more about others than he did himself and would put others before himself.

   The years of pain and surgerys took there toll on my dad though. Tworads the end of his life he slowed way down and his outlook on life started to slip with it. Once he became confined to his wheel chair he seemed to have given up some. I remember the day he called me to tell me that my mom was in a tragic car accident and didn't make it.  I knew by the tone in his voice when he said my name that something was wrong.  I flew home with my kids for my moms funeral and never expected what would happen in the next few days. When I got there he was a wreck, his nerves were shot and he couldn't sleep. He kept asking me what he was going to do without mom. I would just hug him and tell him we'll figure it out together. Then on the day of my moms visitation I had a hard time wakeing him up.  We were to go to the cemetary that morning to sign for the plots and I had to call my grandmother to do it for us as we were running late. It was also difficult to get him in the car so we had to call a local bus service for disabled people to come and pick us up.  We finally made it to the funeral home and it was there that I lost my dad.  It's a day that has haunted me for some time as my father passed right before me yet I didn't notice.  It took me a while to come to terms with that and there are still days that it hits me out of the blue.  I know though, that it was better that way in the long run.  He is finally at peace, and in no more pain.