Birth date: Oct 22, 1933 Death date: Dec 31, 2019
Donald O. Hayen, age 85, passed away in the early morning hours of December 31,2019 after a prolonged struggle with Alzheimer’s. Don was born in Marion, Kansas to Florence and Fred Hayen joining a family of six brothers and one si Read Obituary
I was blessed to be with my dad as he took his last breath. He was the most amazing dad. He was also my longest best friend.
My Dad was my best friend. I loved sailing and skiing with him, but most of all Iloved going anywhere with him in the car. One year we all drove to the mountains for Christmas . My sons were just three and six months. When we got there , after three hours of driving, we put the babies to bed and started putting the toys together. We realized that my son Travis would receive a big Jeep from Santa that was missing a part. This toy was drivable, but I was adamant that we needed to go back and get the part from mom and dads garage. Dad grabbed the keys and said “ We will be back at sunrise. I don’t remember what we talked about for six hours I just remembered how much fun that trip was.
I was the only one in the room when dad took his last breath at 4:19 AM . He made the choice to let go without his wife of over sixty years. Dad knew I could handle it. I never met my Grandma Florence. Still I knew it was her presence in the room at that moment. She came for her little boy who adored her. I knew it was her because Dad had talked about her and how much he loved her.
Dad and I loved getting together for lunch back in the day. It was at our favorite Chinese restaurant that he gave me the greatest compliment I’ve ever gotten. He said “ You are such a good mother, you remind me of my mom, we would get into some kind of trouble and your grandmother would never accept that we could do any wrong. She loved us so much and her heart was so big” I cried when he said that. I will never forget it.
So you see I did know it was her that came for him. Her energy was pure light and love.
I miss you daddy every day and I will see you soon,
Jenny
