It Was His Time

Not for sale

Artist’s Statement
“It Was His Time”
Dimensions: 28″ x 28″

In 2018, my best friend of more than forty years was tragically killed while riding his bicycle. Because of circumstances that are too complex to explain in this setting, I was the one who was chosen to represent his next of kin and take on the numerous difficult tasks associated with his death.

I was the one to make the legal identification and have his body released from the Medical Examiner’s office; to arrange for his cremation, according to his wishes, and to be with him on the day that his physical remains were transformed to ashes. And I was the one to host the Celebration of Life service to provide his family and friends with an opportunity to honor his memory, share their gratitude for having known and loved him, and express their grief over the sudden and tragic loss of his life. I was the one to represent his loved ones and deliver an impact statement for the court to consider.

While it was an honor to be able to do these things for Bill, it was also the single most painful experience of my life. I cried more tears than I could have ever guessed my own body was capable of producing, paid repeated visits to the darkest depths of despair, and experienced a level of loneliness so overwhelming that no words can even attempt to describe the emptiness it evoked.

But I have survived, and I have healed. And I have come to a point where I can be grateful for having had him in my life, and for being able to find the strength to do right by him after his death. And I have come to accept what I may never be able to fully understand; that “It Was His Time.”