Greg McEntyre: Losing those you love
Looking back one week: I write these words exactly one week later than I wrote last week’s column. By now most know that I have written on Facebook concerning the death of my nephew Greg McEntyre last Wednesday. It has been one of the toughest and most heartbreaking weeks of my life.
I would be more than self-centered if I suggested that my sorrow and heartache is peculiar only to me. The feeling of hurt and sense of loss is common to humanity when those they love leave this life. Varying circumstances of relationships and degrees of attachment cause different feelings in each of us. I do not hesitate to say Greg’s passing has left the most intense sense of sorrow and loss than any I have ever experienced.
A recent post by Judy Mulkey noting her feeling of hurt and sorrow over the loss of three loved ones in her life displayed the far reaching effects of the experience. In a short period of just three years, Judy lost her daughter Regina, her husband Jerry, and more recently her brother Jan Goble. Judy expressed her deep sentiments and possibly the sentiments and longings true of most when she said, “Even though we know they are in a better place, it does not stop the longing for their one more hug and kiss.”
A very common experience: The experience of death in the human family is universal. The experience of death raises the question of life after death. That question is a common theme in many (probably most) cultures today. It is a question that has been discussed by poets, artists, philosophers and scientists. It is a question asked by each and every individual living upon the face of the Earth. It is the certainty of death as one of the first awareness’s a great disposition: “The best kinds of people are the ones that come into your life and make you see the sun where once you saw clouds.” Greg loved the assembly of friends and loved ones.
I would tell him about his dad, “Pruney” McEntyre, and the love he had for his son. Then there were his children, of whom he was so proud. Greg watched his two sons graduate from college – Corey from Harding University and Robby from Georgia Tech. He anticipated his daughter Kacee’s graduation from Kennesaw State later this year. I loved him for the direction he pointed them and the pride he showed in them. His sister Melody lost her only sibling which had to hurt so greatly.
The people who came from great distances to honor the man and share sorrow with his family was a testimony of love and admiration.
What would Greg say?: Greg was a happy person. I loved him so much for the way I knew he loved people. What would he say to all of us? I suspect he would say something like this: “My friends, I go, but do not weep/ I lived my life so full and deep/ Throughout my life, I gave the best/ I earned my keep, I’ve earned my rest/ I never tried to be great or grand/ I tried to be a helping hand.
If I brightened your path, then let it be/ A small contribution from my loved ones and me/ Now sadly I love you and travel alone/ Through a mystic veil to the great unknown. With beautiful memories/ That will forever be the way that I hope/ You will remember me.”
In Conclusion: An unknown author said, “To live in the hearts of those who love you is never to die.” Greg McEntyre lives in the hearts of thousands today.