My dear friend, Marshall Dicks, died this morning after a journey with cancer. He had lived with cancer for a number years, but he had a significant decline over the last two months.
Marshall added much to my life, and I will miss him. We had deeply reflectve and meaningful conversations about life. Said slightly differently, we had remarkable conversations about the meaning of life, including what we want our lives to mean.
I want Marshall’s life to mean love, and simply put, I know it does. In great love, he treasured his children, his brother, his wider family, and his friends who were nothing less than family. My heart is with each of them today. He adored choral music and was a gifted conductor. He had a sharp mind and was a life long learner. He loved it all, and we all loved him.
I cannot underestimate the impact that his life and presence had upon the Michigan Nones and Dones Community as he gathered with us for years on Saturdays. It was an honor for us to accompany him on his cancer journey and as life took a number of turns. Nearly all of us were able to be present with him before he died, and on Tuesday, our community members surrounded him as a group. We might also say as a chosen family. “He was a Brother to me,” multiple people have said.
Rest well, Beloved Brother and Friend.
It’s all love now.
That’s what we feel, even in the heartache.
And on the other side, whatever that is like, I hope that love’s abundance is precisely what you know.
Smuggling Grace 