Death and taxes win out in most of life’s struggles

Arthur Godfrey, a popular radio announcer of the 1960s, once quipped: “I am proud to pay my taxes, but I could be just as proud if I only paid half as much.”

I said farewell to one of my best friends this past week. I mourned his passing at a celebration of life. He is the third close friend I have lost in the past several months to the ravages of cancer. I am considering skipping over the obituary pages for fear I will find my own name among them. 

Herbert William Saunders was one of a kind. He was only 66, claimed before his allotted “six decades plus 10.” A math major at the University of Minnesota, he dabbled in real estate and headed the prestigious Coldwell Banker organization in the Twin Cities. In the late 1980s, he co-founded RE/MAX Results and developed it into one of the area’s largest real estate firms with 500 sales associates and 13 offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

We shared many good times together and we enjoyed them to the fullest. Bill was the general manager of The Spring Company when I worked there. To give you an idea of his infectious personality, he was the only person I have ever been associated with who caused me to jump from my seat and run to greet him when he entered my office.

We worked hard and played hard, but always fairly and in our clients’ best interests. We shared disappointment and success. Beyond that, he always wore a smile and possessed a quick wit that endeared him to everyone. It was apparent at his memorial service others shared my feelings.

I never worked for anyone better at his job or whom I admired more.

Closer to home, the Highland Lakes recently lost Donna Palkowski.

For many years, she has been one of strongest and most dedicated supporters of the Burnet County Genealogical Society, serving the organization in many ways. She worked on committees as a volunteer when no one else stepped forward. She became president of the chapter, not because she sought the honor, but because she deserved it. 

Reluctantly, she finally gave up her responsibilities with the genealogical society to tend to her husband’s needs when he became ill. She took over the constant care he required and it may have been too much. Following her husband’s death, she became ill herself and passed away.

I haven’t figured out God’s ultimate plans for our stay on Earth, or why some are called to return to him a few years into their young lives while others are graciously extended a longer, but still far too brief, stay among us.

My friend Bill was stricken with cancer and succumbed after fighting the dreaded disease for 11 years. Donna was taken at the end of a long life, but one in which she deserved better.

In attempting to find an answer, I ran across a quotation that sums it up this way:  “I look upon life as a gift from God. I did nothing to earn it. Now that the time is coming to give it back, I have no right to complain.”

Meade is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Burnet County Genealogical Society and the Kingsland Genealogical Society. His column appears in The Daily Tribune on the first and third Sunday of each month and in The Picayune the following week. You can e-mail him at: www.Leemeaderoots@aol.com.