RIP Don Kay Voyles

I just learned today that my boss and friend Don Voyles passed away yesterday after a short battle with Cancer. I'm pretty saddened by this.

Don found out  in January that he had colon cancer that had spread to every part of his body. It was in his bone marrow his stomach his head, everywhere. However, Don was a man of Faith. He believed that with Gods help that he could beat this. In the beginning he looked into every method of treatment possible. He went with what the doctor had recommended and in the beginning he was doing great. His blood cell count had turned positive and his energy was increasing. He began gaining weight and started exercising again. However, things turned bad really quick. He began to fatigue easily. Sometimes phone conversations made him really tired. He had a hard time walking to the bus stop. Then, a few weeks ago, as he was to begin a new, more aggressive treatment, he had a major stroke. It affected his speech. He could say one maybe two words. On occasion he was able to say a small sentence. It was very frustrating for him as he could understand everything that we said to him, he just couldn't articulate what to say back. This was not the Don I knew.

Don was a very friendly and loving person. He had a silly sense of humor but nothing vulgar. He loved to laugh. If you gave him five minutes he would tell you about the gospel. He was not afraid or ashamed of his Christianity. He Loved people. The customers who came into Don's shop in the Federal Building, for the most part loved Don. Occasionally, you would have some bitter Atheists who would complain about Don's worship music that he played in his store but it had no effect. One time a lady came in and bought something and said in a very rude and snide way "Thanks for the Sermon" Rolling her eyes. Don said "You are very welcome. God Bless you. Jesus Loves you" with a smile on his face. She turned beet red and walked out.

Don had helped me and my family on many occasions. I enjoyed his company and I will miss him very much. I consider him a friend and a brother. As I write this, I can't even believe that he is dead. What am I going to tell the regulars? I have cried several times, including now.

My family and I were going to pay him a visit in the home he was staying in for the last two weeks since his stroke. About 15 mins before we were leaving I received a call with the bad news.

I know that Don was not afraid of Death, but he was not ready to go. He planned on running his store until he was 75 and then he would retire. The second to last time I saw him he grabbed me and Timberlys hand and said "Pray". As I was praying he began to sob. I had never see him do this before. He felt so helpless. As he left he said "Thanks for coming" and shortly after that "Love you" I consider this our last conversation because the next time I saw him he was very out of it and slept most of my visit.

Don is in heaven with his heavenly father and finally got his eyesight back (He was blind on top of everything else). He has no more pain and his jumping for joy right now. In that, I am celebrating. However, I will miss his companionship, spiritual wisdom, and his humor.

God Bless you Don and Rest easy brother...