{"id":19729,"date":"2026-03-11T08:09:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T08:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/gratitude-and-grief-when-a-loved-one-dies-on-thanksgiving\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:08:29","slug":"gratitude-and-grief-when-a-loved-one-dies-on-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/gratitude-and-grief-when-a-loved-one-dies-on-thanksgiving\/","title":{"rendered":"Gratitude and Grief: When a Loved One Dies on Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"

I walked into the hospice room. Dad was lying in bed\u2014his eyes half-closed, his breathing barely audible. I\u2019d rushed to Cleveland to be by his side. I\u2019d been home in Alexandria, chopping vegetables for Thanksgiving dinner, when my sister, Nan, called.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a call from the hospice,\u201d she said. \u201cDad doesn\u2019t have much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, no! Not on Thanksgiving Eve, <\/em>I thought.<\/p>\n

Dad had Alzheimer\u2019s. He\u2019d been relatively stable until a series of infections prompted moves from assisted living to hospitals, rehab facilities, nursing homes and finally hospice in early September. It was agonizing to make the decision to separate him from our mom, who remained in assisted living.<\/p>\n

I knew Dad\u2019s life was coming to an end. But did it have to happen so close to Thanksgiving? It seemed tragic to lose a loved one on a holiday, our future celebrations tainted by grief. God\u2019s timing is perfect, <\/em>I tried to tell myself.<\/p>\n

I hung up with Nan. I can make the drive, <\/em>I thought, hoping Dad could hang on until I got there. I was throwing clothes into a suitcase when something urged me to look up flights. I found two that night with seats. I booked a ticket.<\/p>\n

Then there was the matter of getting to the airport. My husband, Hal, and I saw news reports of roads clogged with holiday traffic. But once we got on the road, cars sped along the highway, almost as if willed forward. We got to the Baltimore airport in record time.<\/p>\n

Now here I was in dad\u2019s hospice room on Thanksgiving<\/a> morning. \u201cHi, Dad. It\u2019s me, Barb,\u201d I said as I leaned over to kiss him. I put on one of his favorite CDs and pulled a chair close to his bed. We listened to the gospel quartet The Jubilee Hummingbirds sing \u201cFree at Last.\u201d<\/p>\n

I took Dad\u2019s hand. \u201cFather God, thank you for blessing me with a wonderful father,\u201d I said. \u201cThank you for his life. Please welcome him into your kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n

I repeated my prayer until Dad opened his eyes. We had been together only 20 minutes. Had the Lord given him a reprieve? \u201cDad?\u201d I asked. He yawned and took a deep breath before settling back into bed. Then he didn\u2019t breathe again.<\/p>\n

I ran into the hall for an aide. Moments later, two nurses were at Dad\u2019s bedside. They checked his heartbeat and pulse. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry,\u201d one nurse said.<\/p>\n

I bent over and wailed\u2014in grief yet also in gratitude. \u201cThank you, Lord, that he was not alone in his passing,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before Nan and Mom arrived. Tears welled in Mom\u2019s eyes as she stroked Dad\u2019s face. They had been married for more than six decades. I couldn\u2019t imagine the sense of loss<\/a> she felt.<\/p>\n

We drove to Nan\u2019s house. It felt surreal to carry on with Thanksgiving, but we knew Dad would\u2019ve wanted it.<\/p>\n

So we roasted the turkey, heated the ham and cooked collard greens. We even made Dad\u2019s favorite dish, \u201csweet potato stuff\u201d: mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar, butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Our family gathered around the table, heads bowed<\/a>. I led us in grace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Lord, for allowing us to be together at this time. Thank you for Dad\u2019s life and all that he meant to us. Be with us now, and grant us your strength in the days ahead. Thank you for the food and all who prepared it. In Jesus\u2019 name, we pray. Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n

We passed the heaping platters of food around the table, from one family member to the next. It made me think of the full and wonderful life my father had lived, surrounded by people he loved\u2014a life Dad had always been grateful for. Yes, it was fitting for God to call him home on Thanksgiving, even making it possible for me to be with Dad at the end. The timing was perfect indeed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For more inspiring stories, subscribe to <\/em>Guideposts<\/strong><\/a> magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I walked into the hospice room. Dad was lying in bed\u2014his eyes half-closed, his breathing barely audible. I\u2019d rushed to Cleveland to be by his side. I\u2019d been home in Alexandria, chopping vegetables for Thanksgiving dinner, when my sister, Nan, called. \u201cI got a call from the hospice,\u201d she said. \u201cDad doesn\u2019t have much longer.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,185],"tags":[156,15,25,76,31,166],"ppma_author":[1419],"class_list":["post-19729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-stories-of-faith-and-hope","tag-death","tag-faith","tag-family","tag-father","tag-gratitude","tag-grief"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGratitude and Grief: When a Loved One Dies on Thanksgiving - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gratitude and Grief: When a Loved One Dies on Thanksgiving\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I walked into the hospice room. 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