Goodbye, old friend

Tolek and Charlie the Cat

May 2010

Our friend Leo Emerson passed away at the Seattle VA hospital this week at age 80. His close friends called him Tolek.  Amanda first met Tolek when she was in her early 20's, and over the years he became part of our lives, too. Amanda and Tolek had a unique friendship, and he was a generous source of support and encouragement through her young adult years, from college student to waitress, Peace Corps volunteer to wife and mother, and now, soon-to-be registered nurse.

Tolek was raised in a New England orphanage and joined the Marines when he was a teenager during the Korean War. He never lost his gratitude for what his country gave him.  He was the most highly-educated self-educated person we've ever met.  He liked art and collected rare books, especially literature and philosophy.  He also loved whimsical toys, silly mechanical gadgets and watches and pens.  His apartment was a wild mixture of used book store, Woolworth's and Aladdin's cave.  When Amanda left for the Peace Corps, he adopted her Charlie and turned him into the most spoiled cat in the universe. 

Above everything, Tolek loved conversation, even though thirty years ago cancer of the larynx had taken away his ability to speak without an electrolarynx, that external device that is placed against the neck. Many people in West Seattle knew of him because of this, but just a small circle of friends knew him well. His lived his life on his own terms.  He was brave, tough and ornery like an old Marine, and despite years of serious health problems never felt sorry for himself. Bless him, he had nothing but good things to say about the VA hospital that saved his life many times.

When I saw him for the last time at the hospital on Saturday, he said he considered himself one of the luckiest people in the world.  And our world will be a little less colorful without Tolek.