Gone Too Soon

Written by Tony Mussari
Edited by Kitch Loftus-Mussari
Copyright 2012
Mussari-Loftus Associates
All Rights Reserved
The Face of America Project
faceofamericawps.com

The memory of your dear Father, instead of an agony, will yet be
a sad sweet feeling in your heart, of a purer and holier sort than
you have known before. Abraham Lincoln

Gone Too Soon

I only knew him for a short time, and I did not know him well. Nevertheless, during the board meetings we attended at the Back Mountain Memorial Library, the person I watched and listened to taught me well.

He was dedicated, determined and devoted to his work.

He was competent and comprehensive about his assignments.

He measured his words, and he never spoke in a hurtful way.

He was candid, genuine, humorous and very affirming.

He was a responsible man who always wanted to do his best.

He extended himself to open the door for others.

With all that said, I saw in his eyes and felt from his heart a kind of pain and worry that made life difficult for him and those he loved.

In July, he sent me a beautiful note filled with words of affirmation and encouragement. It came from the goodness of his heart. It was intended to help people connect, and make people feel the warmth of community. There was, however, a sense of urgency. It was as if he knew his time was limited.

We never had the meeting he suggested. He was hospitalized. His seat in the boardroom was empty. His voice was silent.

The news of his death confirmed the words of Thomas Merton, “Death is something you see very clearly with eyes in the center of your heart.”

Dick Evans was a college graduate, an Air Force veteran, a devoted husband and parent, a successful businessman and a community leader. He personified the characteristics of millions of Americans born in the shadow of World War II: determination, persistence, resilience, a desire to serve and a deeply felt obligation to honor and respect parents, family, community and country.

Dick Evans will be missed by his family, his friends and his colleagues on the Back Mountain Memorial Library Board.

He was a man with presence, a man with passion and a man with ideas.

He was a Face of America on its best day.

Please provide feedback to:
tony.mussari@gmail.com