A couple of weeks ago, we got word that a family friend, Steve Feaster, had been sent home with hospice care. He had been battling cancer for the past three years. He recently retired from NASA, where he worked for the past 30 years as a research pilot. He flew his final mission in May of this year. On August 22nd, he passed away.
We first received the email Tuesday morning. We then made the decision to make the trip and be with the family. We've known Jan, his wife, and their three sons, Max, Carl, and Daniel for about 7 years. Our families were quite close while we lived in the Houston area.
We left out that Tuesday and arrived at 3:00am Wednesday. It sure was nice having four drivers. We checked into our hotel and slept for a few hours. Then we got up and went to the Feaster house around 10:00am. Jan was quite surprised to see us. We did not tell her we were coming. We were very glad that she was pleased we were there.
Lorie and I visited with Steve for a bit. He was in a Morphine-induced coma, but he woke up briefly to see us and indicate that he knew us. We then took the boys out with us to get some fresh air. Jan thought that would be a great idea. All the kids had a good time with each other. It had been a couple of years since we had seen each other.
That evening, just five minutes after we left, Steve died.
I was glad that the only people at the house at the time were Jan and the boys.
The next day, we decided to leave the Feaster boys at home to spend time with family members that were beginning to arrive. The funeral was set for Saturday so we had some time to do a little sight-seeing.
Here are the kids atop 10,378 ft. Sandia Peak w/Albuquerque in the background. We had just rode the tram up.
The rest of the pictures are from various aspects of our trip, including the road trip back.
And the 16+ hour trip home...
... A brief stop in Texaco, NM...
... to vist the cemetary where Lorie's grandparents are buried.
Back in Texas...
The windmills on the horizon west of Abilene.
