Gone But Loved was born out of deep rooted emotions hidden for years but finally erupted into a meaningful product in 2016.
It was in December 2007 it had been about a month since I spoke to my dad last, my wife will normally speak to her parents about once to twice a week, she had been prompting me to call my dad and speak with him. Work had taken a toll on my daily hours and by the time I got home, I was already a wreck, good enough to fall asleep on the living room couch, or if I'm lucky, I make it to bed, only to wake up for the next toll of work the following morning. To my wife, one month was too long, especially when we are thousands of miles across the Atlantic from our parents. Eventually I succumbed to her bid, and precisely on the 11th of December 2007, I called and spoke to my dad around 8pm in the evening. It was quite refreshing and nice to catch up again after a month. We chatted, we shared some jokes and laughed over the phone. He also shared his plans to spend Christmas with his brothers and friends and he had made plans for the Christmas party. He, however told me not to leave it too late for me to call him, he requested that I at least call him once a week, just for him to hear my voice and that of his grandchildren. He spoke to my wife and we hung up.
On the night of December 12, 2007, I had just got home around 8:45pm, carting the shopping I did on the way into the kitchen, I was exchanging my shopping skills with my wife about the deals I got when suddenly around 9:05pm, I got a call from afar, informing me that my Dad had just passed away. It was unbelievable, I screamed out loud for about 3 seconds with such pain that I can never explain properly to anyone. My wife asked what was wrong, but I remembered immediately that my mum was sitting in the living room next door, and I could not afford her to know that her husband just passed on, she had come to look after my new baby in my home. She had heard my scream, and she ran in to ask what was wrong. I diffused the situation by telling her I just hurt my finger and it was painful. There is much that happened after then, but I will stop here about my Dad.
This experience, was the beginning of an emotional journey filled with pain. I bottled it inside of me for such a long time. I remember bursting into tears at different times and at places where a man should not be found crying or weeping. On the train, at work, on the street, tears will just pour whenever I get overwhelmed with thoughts of my Dad, and especially in the way and manner he passed without saying goodbye, or rather, without me saying a proper goodbye.
The thoughts of my dad's death, and the deep emotions I felt at the time, led me to create Gone But Loved memorial site, to honor my dad, and to help those who may end up loosing a loved one, to use this site, as a memorial site to remember their loved ones. I hope Gone But Loved provides you a lasting comfort, and a staging area to host and remember the memories of your loved ones. Friends and family, even generations unborn, will be able to read about their loved ones, their parents, grand parents, great grand parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends and colleagues. I do get comfort when i visit this site to view my loved ones memorial, listen to the background music, and read comments and tributes written by friends and family. I hope you will get the same comfort I experience, as you use this site to remember your loved ones.
Erect A Memorial