Departing NF - Pool of Tears

Joan won't be back. Neither will I. Joan Shelby Piper died at 3:30 in the afternoon of December 31, 2009. Cancer took her. She was my partner and it has been a great shock to lose her. Until the very, very end, we were pretty much alone together in Ontario during her final year and a half of struggle and those countless round-trips between Niagara Falls and the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton. We made a life of it. She was remarkable throughout. Every moment was just as it was and nothing needed to be otherwise. She was 66. I also now have forever departed our home in Niagara Falls, ON. This has been an incredibly sad and difficult time for me. I seem to want to share it with this photo taken at the Falls.

"Departing NF - Pool of Tears" ... portraying loss.

Good luck to you Vin. I'm sure these next few weeks months will be hard ones, but i hope you can take solace in your art, which i just looked at in your portfolio, and found to be so nice. You have a great eye that i hope you won't shut.

Since this posting, I've created this page for Joan. When discussing the awful, awful period following Joan's death, a dear friend said "There was something positive and good about what you did with Joan. There was a reason why you did it. Try to understand it in that way and move forward from that." I think I understand that now...it brought, and still brings, great joy. We were in love. We still are.

Joan was a true gift. She radiated, she sparkled, she savored, she loved. I miss her incredibly. I always chuckle while remembering our many times together. But there also is a great emptiness now. A huge sadness. It won't go away.