George Albert Provost

George A Provost, 89, of Manchester, died Saturday, February 25, 2017. Born June 7, 1927, the son of Rodolphe and Donalda Provost, he'd been a lifelong resident of Manchester. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Claire Provost, three daughters; Lisa Provost, Jacqueline Sage and Denise McMahon, a son-in-law Richard McMahon, several grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

George and Claire met young and married in 1947 after he'd returned home from the war. George worked hard to take care of his family; He worked at Leitch-Huard aka Workplace Systems for many years. He then worked construction for many years before becoming maintenance supervisor for the YWCA and eventually retiring. He was always there to help when family, friends or neighbors needed him. George served in the Navy in the South Pacific during WWII in the Philippines, Japan and China, seventh fleet. He was also a member of the American Legion.

He and Claire used to travel with their friends around the eastern part of the U.S. many years ago. During those years George played the organ and other instruments such as the guitar and harmonica, all self taught. They loved having friends over for parties and to play cards. They also enjoyed walks on the beach and camping, BBQs with the family as well as playing horseshoes and darts. One of their favorite staples for many years was to have Sunday morning breakfast with "the gang"; a large group of their friends, at their favorite restaurant.

In his later years he became more immobile due to health and pain issues. In 2013 George developed heart disease among many other health issues, and was diagnosed again with cancer after having been in remission for 10 years. This time it had spread and caused mobility issues. Thankfully he was not in much pain until the very end of his life when he was passing away. The wonderful nurses and hospice looking after him saw to it that he did not experience that pain and had a peaceful and loving passing. Family was with George every day for a year while he was being cared for at the nursing home. He never went without love or company and family was with him until the end of this life. They're confident and relieved he's at peace and with all of his family and friends who have passed before him and sure he was welcomed by many in the next life.

The family would like to thank the staff at Hillsborough County Nursing Home and Home Health and Hospice Care of Merrimack, NH for their excellent and compassionate care of their husband and father. He would never have lived as long and as comfortably as he did without them. We can't thank them enough.

Services took place on June 16th, at the Cremation Society of NH, 172 King Street in Boscawen. Internment followed immediately at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, 110 Daniel Webster Highway in Boscawen. Thank you to those who attended.

As many family and friends were not able to make it to the services some have asked I include my eulogy here:

"We are all the pieces of what we remember. We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there is love and memory there is no true loss." - Cassadaga Claire

Thank you all for coming. This has been the most challenging and difficult time for us in ways I can't even begin to express. I never imagined I'd be here giving a eulogy for both of our parents at the same time. They both had a very rough go of it this last year and a half and suffered so much physical pain. For them, that's over now and we're grateful. They're happy, together and healthy again. And because of that we're going to celebrate their lives, not mourn them.

Along with the very hard times we've had, it was also beautiful in many ways. We got to spend quality time with both of them that we never thought possible. There were a lot of tears, but also a lot of laughter and really nice talks. Illness can give you the opportunity to really connect and accept each other; because nothing else matters anymore. Dad had to accept a lot of things about himself and his life and it made our time together more genuine. He learned patience he never had before. We saw a different side of him that we'll always remember, one we always wanted to see. Some people never get that chance. In all the hours I spent in the ER with him, he spilled his guts to me many times and told me how much he loved us. He said a lot of things I'd wanted to hear for a long time and I am so grateful for that opportunity, it was a blessing. And with mom I was able to hear her tell me she loved me one more time before she passed away and lucky enough to feel her pass right through me when she left her body. A gift I'll always treasure.

We always knew mom was strong but we saw a side of her that made everything else pale in comparison. She fought hard to stay with us, even knowing she would suffer if she did. She gave up her comfort and peace to be here for her daughters. She was a tiny little thing but as dad used to call her, a tiny stick of dynamite.

There are so many great and funny memories to talk about. In October of 2015 Jackie and I decided to take them out for ice cream at Mac Apples in Londonderry. It was a gorgeous day and we wanted to treat them. It turned out to be one of those memorable days that we'll always hold dear. Dad was having a lot of trouble walking and we didn't realize his cancer was about to take a turn for the worse. But he enjoyed that afternoon so much it meant the world to him. We enjoyed our ice cream, did some shopping, but also went for a long drive looking at the foliage. We even came home, made a pit stop and went back out driving for awhile. It was a perfect day and I'm so glad we'll always have that memory. They enjoyed themselves so much.

Dad and I spent a lot of time sitting in the driveway together or on the front porch just listening to the birds and taking in the sunshine. He loved the sun and nature so much. At the nursing home, for some reason, he'd decided that the tree outside his window was something he planted. He kept saying "Look how big that tree has grown! I just planted it not too long ago!" Parts of that tree will now be interred with him. They loved him there; they even made him resident of the month. We're forever grateful for the outstanding love and care he received.

Months ago in October of 2016, mom's front tooth cracked and broke off, we don't know how. I decided money didn't matter and she should have a partial done, no one wants to walk around without front teeth. I called her Toothless, which as some of you might know is the main dragon in the cartoon How to Train Your Dragon. And btw, the kind of dragon Toothless was, was a Night Fury. She loved that. We went into the dentist and because it had been so long since she went, she had to have a cleaning and ended up with six cavities. She had it in her head we would just go, she'd get fitted right there and boom! New teeth. She was so mad. Every time we went back in, no matter what I told her, she kept thinking she was leaving with new teeth.

The cleanings, cavities and fittings for the partials took MANY visits. It took forever to get those darned things and she ran out of patience. The dentist had promised her she'd have them before Thanksgiving and she would just say "yeah, yeah, I don't believe you anymore." She really let him have it. The poor man went above and beyond and worked on his day off to get them for her, the day before Thanksgiving. So we've decided she can have her teeth for eternity, they'll be interred with her. I let her dentist know and everyone in the office laughed and thinks it's fantastic.

When I was younger, dad and I started hearing a sound at night we thought was a ghost moaning. It was really loud but yet sounded far off, OOOOOOHHHHHHHH, OOOOOHHHHHH! I'd wake up and say "what the heck is that!" He'd come out of the room and say the same thing and as soon as we got up it would stop. We kept hearing it often and couldn't figure it out and finally one night I went into their room and saw it was mom! She was having nightmares and moaning and screaming like a banshee. I finally recorded her and played it for her and she couldn't believe it. So that was the running joke for a long time, our household ghost was mom.

Most of her doctors all loved her; she was such a strong, tiny thing who defied the odds every time. She lived through two ulcer operations, a leaky valve in her heart that killed her during one of those operations, a broken neck she didn't even know she had, an infection that went to her heart and her spine, a broken hip, colitis, esophagus issues, on and on. They both really had more than nine lives each. The running joke was that the Grim Reaper kept knocking on our door and I was standing there with a frying pan hitting him over the head. I could swear after they passed he told me I was a worthy opponent.

Her eye doctor adored her because she had glaucoma and she would go into her exams and say "how's my glaucomoly?" He loved it so much he decided to use it in his doctor's conference speeches.

Dad of course was the one who did the "dad jokes" and those jokes will remain forever in our minds. You know the ones that aren't that funny but are just because it comes from them? Even this last year he never stopped being funny. One of our favorite memories is in late Nov. when we were all there at the nursing home for their 69th wedding anniversary. That day was just one of those times that he was right on the money with everything, he felt good, it was a beautiful day and we spent the entire time laughing so loud the nurses wanted in on the fun. That's what I want to remember. That's what I'll really miss.

I miss going downstairs every night to get what I called an oven hug from mom. Because of her heart condition, her blood always ran really hot. She was like a walking oven. I'd hug her at night before she'd go to bed and even though she was so tiny and bony she could give me a hard squeeze and not let go. I'd finally have to say "OMG get off me you're lighting me on fire!" She'd laugh so hard, it didn't seem to bother her at all, I told her she was hot stuff.

Dad had said for many years that when he died he wanted to come back as a seagull so he could poop on anyone that had been mean to him in the past. Every time I see a seagull now I cover my head just in case.

I've been seeing them in my mind in different stages of their lives on the other side. A lot of the time they choose to be in the years when they were dating, young and healthy. But I also see them later in life, late 70s, early 80s, sitting on their recliners eating popcorn and watching us as we try to gauge our lives without them. Watching us finally bond and grow closer and saying "Now THIS is a good movie".

We've had a lot of signs from them. I always told dad to let me know he was okay because we believe energy doesn't die. As soon as he passed he came to me right away in some amazing ways; really strong! Then when mom passed it stopped. But we all had a beautiful sign from her when Chaplain Jan came to the house a month ago to help us prepare for this service. We were talking about them and I said I felt them with us very strongly for the first time since she died. We had bought mom a small bell when she'd broken her hip so she could ring it in the middle of the night when she needed help. As we were talking, the bell rang, loudly. We all heard it, every one of us. The TV wasn't on, no radio, the doors were closed, nothing outside. I went and got the bell and rang it once and we all agreed that was it. It was the best way to say she was happy with what we were doing and let us know they were here with us.

As we continue to honor them in many ways over the years I want to keep hearing that bell, seeing those signs. I know they're both right here, she told me so. I could hear her one day while I was making dinner. "Lis! I'm right here, I'm right here!" It's so hard when you want to hug them, touch them, kiss them. We don't understand that other world where they are but I believe it's there and I believe with all of my heart they'll never leave us. They are enjoying their new lives, living it in a different way without any pain or sorrow, just love and peace. And that kind of love never, ever dies. It just grows until you see each other again. And until that day comes, we'll keep their memory alive in as many beautiful ways as we can. And when we see each other again it'll be beautiful and perfect.