I'm In Shock

B just called me and told me that my oldest first cousin, Tommy Gene Tomkins died this morning.

He'd been having trouble with his liver, and was in the hospital for tests. His sister Marsha stayed with him last night, and about 3:00AM she called their other sister Kathy and told her he was really going downhill fast. They got my aunt, then called in the rest of the family. He was awake and alert and lucid up until the end. About 9 something this morning all his systems suddenly shut down and he died.

It happened so fast, we are all still in shock. I called my older brother and we both were going umm, err, and oh my goodness. It's one of those things we just don't want to believe. I hadn't seen him in years, but I'll still miss him. I hadn't seen him in years, but I knew he was out there somewhere. I'll miss him tremendously because I'll know he's not there any more.

He was several years older than me, but he was still my generation. He was the first.
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