Joe died very early Wednesday morning, in his sleep. The first report from his autopsy hasn’t established a certain cause of death; his heart was greatly enlarged, and he had a little cardiovascular disease, but was otherwise healthy. They’ve established that it wasn’t a heart attack, a stroke or an aneurysm. His sister Laura, a nurse who specialized in cardio, believes it was a rhythmic irregularity that could not have been predicted: he had no risk factors except that he was a male in his fifties with some family history of heart disease.

Ian, Caitlan and I are here in Richmond with my mom now, staying nights at Joe’s house near Lancaster to take care of the dogs and keep the fire going (it’s heated with wood). Caitlan flipped her car twice on the way to see Mom that morning; the car is probably junk, but Caitlan is okay aside from some whiplash. She’s attempting to incorporate her neck brace into various turtleneck ensembles.

Weather and other delays have moved things to after Christmas. The visitation will be at Spurlin Funeral Home in Lancaster from 3-8 pm on Sunday the 26th. The funeral will also be at the home, at 10 am on Monday the 27th. After the funeral we’ll proceed to Blue Bank Farm in Casey County, where Joe will be buried in our family cemetery, next to my father and my mother’s father.

Thanks to everyone who has sent condolences and well-wishes. I appreciate all your words; I don’t have time to answer you individually right now, but your kind thoughts mean a great deal to me and my family.

Donations may be made, in lieu of flowers, to three things Joe loved: the Garrard County Humane Society, Kentucky Educational Television, or St. Mark School.