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Looking back

I read the paper last week on our loss of Paul Hambruch.

I read the paper last week on our loss of Paul Hambruch and was very humbled that Chris gave me credit for a conversation we had long ago  about the importance of getting our relatives on tape to provide their life story.

I had mentioned this at a Remembrance day assembly that we are slowly losing all our WWII vets and if families still had survivors, their stories of the war should be recorded.

I taped and interviewed my father 15 years ago when he still had his health and could be understood.

Dad is 88 now and not in condition to communicate properly.

My father and I did this knowing full well that this would be a gift for my three sisters when he passes on. It will be the best gift they will ever receive and it will be from our father. In the end I asked him what message he would leave for each daughter.  He did.

I was unable to attend the ceremony for Paul.

You don’t realize the impact someone has had on your life until they are no longer there and we often regret not letting that person know how you felt or to make time to say goodbye. Sometimes you don’t even realize what influence someone has had on you until they are no longer there.

I first met Paul when I joined Rotary. This is what Paul meant to me.

The most important  thing was when he got up to speak, I learned to shut up, as I was about to learn something.  I could only imagine that Chris growing up must have  often kept his mouth shut, as he is a pretty smart person.

Through Paul’s action he demonstrated to me the importance of  volunteering and giving back to the community.

The other quality I observed in Paul was over the last three years spending more time in Invermere, when I did meet up with him, he was happy to see me and took the time to chat.

Rotary has some new young blood in Golden and guys like Eddie, I know will have  benefitted from Paul’s wisdom and from  watching him in action.  All the best to Paul’s family and thanks for letting the community take up a great deal of his time and energy.

Marko Shehovac

Invermere