A Long Sad Week

On Thursday March 24th we got a call that Marty's dad Ken had cancer and he had been admitted to the hospital and things were not looking good. The family needed Marty. We took off that night just in time for a huge blizzard that we hit over and over all across the country. We passed over 100 cars off the road from Iowa to Wyoming. But we were fine. The phone calls as we drove were urgent and we really didn't know if we were going to make it in time. It was so sad. Sage and Amber had been up to Salt Lake to visit the week before and had called us to tell us they were worried because he didn't look good. Nobody knew he had cancer. Now here we were a week later racing to see him before he died.
Well we did make it Friday night and the whole family was there waiting in the waiting room of the St Marks Hospital. Ken was really out of it but he would wake up occasionally and talk to us. Most of it didn't make a lot of sense but he had a few lucid moments.
He really hated the mask they had on his face. It was forcing air into his lungs. He had a drain in his side draining fluid off of his lungs and he was pretty miserable. He was being given air and Morphine but they said there was really nothing more they could do but keep him comfortable.
We went to get some sleep and came back Saturday Morning. We had quite a crowd there all day. We talked and comforted each other. From the time we left Illinois I had been Facebooking Marty's uncle and cousins to let them know everything we did.
Amber and Sage had come up from Cedar City and Jessica came down from Roosevelt with her new little one Sophie. Sophie is just a few weeks old and we were excited to get to see her even though the circumstances were sad.

We got to see most of the great grandkids and they were so fun to watch. They sure kept things light which was good.
Saturday Morning they decided to take off the mask. The doctor thought he would go pretty fast after that but he didn't, his oxygen stayed pretty good all day.


Saturday night they decided to move him to a hospice facility. It was super nice. They took out his drain tube and moved him. We again thought things were going to go really fast. He surprised everyone.
He slept a lot and rarely made any sense if he spoke at all. But every once in a while he would surprise us with lucidity. When we all went to say good bye he woke right up and hugged each of us and said good night. Marty decided he would stay the night with him and Ken very clearly told him he was fine and to go get some sleep and he would see him in the morning. We were all so shocked but Marty needed it. We went to dinner with Marty's sister Lorna and her family. Then we went to my sister Tracy's house to sleep.
When we arrived back the next morning. Ken was still with us but he really looked bad so I didn't take any pictures. They had taken out his teeth which really changed his face but he wasn't responding to anyone and we all knew today was the day. Everyone spent time with him. Amber stood over him singing hymns the whole time. We were with him when he took his last breath. It was bittersweet. Amber was singing as he passed. Then we all had a good cry and left.

Grandpa Kenneth Lawrence Steen Died at 3:40pm on Sunday February 27th.
The funeral was on Wednesday March 2nd. Amber sang a solo, Lacey and Amber sang a hymn together. Marty conducted and said a few words, Lorna's girls spoke, Junior, Kens brother Don and I said a few words. It was short and simple and exactly what Ken would have wanted. He was buried next to his wife Barbara at the West Jordan Cemetery. He had been so sad since Barbara died 2 years before. I think the greatest comfort was that he wouldn't be sad anymore and they would finally be together again.





It was very cold so we didn't stay long at the graveside. We moved on to Lorna's church for a family dinner. My family was so great. They provided a lot of the food for the dinner. Lorna' s family brought food too and it really turned out to be quite a feast.

But Marty and his family really took care of things themselves for the most part. They are hard workers and a close loving family. I think Ken and Barbara would be proud of their family and the way they pull together in times like these. They have an amazing posterity.
I am so grateful to have known this amazing man. I am grateful for the son they raised and the wonderful loving man that he is. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of Heavenly Fathers plan and the comfort that it brings to me at times like these. I love my children and I am grateful that they knew these wonderful people and I hope and pray that they will always live their life in a way that would show respect to them. Goodbye Grandpa Steen I love you and miss you so much already.