It's with a heavy heart that I share the news that my father, Del DowDell, passed away around 4:00 PM on January 12, 2022. My dad had many loves in his life—his unwavering dedication to his work on the Book of Mormon, this blog, and its readers was one of them. But above all, he loved his family and my mother. The comments and support from readers over the years meant so much to him, and he cherished the connections he made through his writing.
After a year and a half of declining health, my father suffered a stroke on Sunday. His mind, always sharp and full of wisdom, remained strong, but his body could no longer keep up. On Tuesday, with my mom’s help, he made the effort to call each of his seven children to tell us he loved us. After those calls, he turned to my mother and told her he loved her dearly. When I spoke to him that day, I asked, “Dad, are you writing a blog today?” He paused and said, “I don’t think I’ll be writing any more blogs.” In that moment, I knew his time with us was coming to an end.
Later that day, my two brothers and I traveled to St. George to give him a blessing and release him from this life. Just two hours after the blessing, Dad took his last breath and embarked on his journey to join his heroes on the other side.
In his youth, my dad was an incredibly talented baseball player, and he loved the game. Baseball was more than just a sport to him—it was a way to teach us about life. He had a knack for weaving life lessons into baseball analogies, and I’ll always treasure those memories. I vividly remember, as a kid in the late '80s, hearing him tell one of his favorite baseball jokes. It went like this:
Two old men, lifelong best friends, had both made it to their early 80s when one of them fell gravely ill. The other friend came to visit him on his deathbed, and as they reminisced about their years of friendship, the friend made a heartfelt request.
“Listen, when you die, do me a favor,” he said. “I want to know if there’s baseball in heaven.”
The dying man smiled weakly and replied, “We’ve been friends for a lifetime, so yes, I’ll do this for you.” And then he passed away.
A few days later, the surviving friend was asleep when he suddenly heard his friend’s voice.
“I’ve got some good news and some bad news,” the voice said.
“What’s the good news?” the friend asked.
“There’s baseball in heaven,” the voice replied.
“And the bad news?”
“You’re pitching on Wednesday.”
This Wednesday, Dad was called up to pitch in heaven. A son couldn’t ask for a better father, and I love him more than words can say. I can’t help but feel that the Lord needed him on the other side to help prepare for what’s to come.
I’ll miss you, Dad. I love you. Thank you for everything.
My sincere condolences. He will be greatly missed by me and others that followed his writings.
ReplyDeleteMy condolences, he was the most informed person in the Church today as to the place where the book of Mormon took place. He was a fine scholar and will be greatly missed. I followed his blog every single day for many years. He was a real treasure. Rest in Peace my dear friend. Ira
ReplyDeleteSincere Condolences! Truly!
ReplyDeleteHe is brilliant, very detailed, backs up his research, and explains things very clearly. He will be sorely missed.
I was ecstatic when I found this site as it reinforced what I had found out on my own, and I have learned so much from his research.
God Bless your family!
I'm so sorry for your loss. Del we will all miss you, your writings and knowledge.
ReplyDeleteNow Del has a completed puzzle of all the migrations of all the people of earth.
Thank you for a decade of teaching me.
JRA
Del helped me to find a new passion for the words and teachings of the Book of Mormon and instilled in me a passion for the Andes. We're few, those of us who see South America as Del did, but we'll try our best to keep studying, learning, exploring, and moving forward.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, I'm sure he's having a great time right now. His study resources just got immeasurably larger.
My sincere condolences
ReplyDelete