A brief introduction:
My name is Paul Howley, owner of the Eisner Award winning
pop culture collector’s store known as “That’s Entertainment” in Worcester,
Massachusetts and a second store in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Some people have
called me the “luckiest man in the comic book business.” (I’m not) My stores
have been around for over forty years and it’s been a long and interesting
combination of events and people that have brought these stores to this current
place. It is not my intent to boast or brag about my store or my life. I just
want to tell you my story. In many instances, my wife remembers things a little
differently, but this is the truth as I remember it.
The Current Cast of Characters:
Paul Howley: age 49
Mal Howley: age 50
Adam Howley: my son, age 21
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 20
Richard A. Daher: Mal’s father: age 78
MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP: Part #216
In 2003, while we
were living in Florida, we learned that Mal’s father had another stroke. Richard
had some health issues over the years starting with his first heart attack at
age 48. He was a heavy smoker most of his life. He had a stroke that changed
his emotional response so that he’d cry when he meant to laugh; but overall, he
was a strong physical man. He lived with his wife , Helen, in central Florida,
about two hours away from us. Mal’s oldest sister, Ginny, and her husband
Denis, lived very close to them.
Mal and I packed
some clothes and drove across the state to the hospital in the town of
Celebration, Florida. Richard had been admitted to the Advent Health Celebration
Hospital and we were very impressed by the doctors, nurses, and staff there. The
hospital (and the entire town!) was planned and designed by The Walt Disney
Company in the 1990s to be close the original Walt Disney idea of Epcot
(Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow). This state-of-the-art hospital
facility was beautiful to look at and every staff member we encountered was
friendly, professional and helpful. Most importantly, the doctors and nurses
seemed to actually care about the patients. In fact, it was not uncommon to
find doctors and nurses praying for their patients. I appreciated that since
most of my interactions with doctors tended to be negative experiences.
Our visit with
Richard was short. The stroke had severely affected his ability to speak and he
had lost the use of one side of his body. He also had a feeding tube down his
throat that made speaking a struggle. We knew he needed to rest so we headed to
Ginny and Denis’ home.
Ginny’s home had a
bedroom for guests and they graciously offered to let us stay with them. We all
had no idea how long Richard was going to be hospitalized so we’d all try to
make the best of the situation.
The next day when
we went to visit him, Mal and I were surprised to run into a man we knew from
Massachusetts named Stacy Nelson. He used to service our swimming pool back in
the 1980s although he had a Master’s degree in nutrition and health. He had
moved to Celebration, Florida when his application for residency in the
community was accepted. Stacy recognized us too and he spent some time
reassuring us that there was no better hospital for Richard to be in.
Mal’s sister Rose
also lived nearby and we would all gather at the hospital once she, Ginny and
Denis got out of work each day. Over the next few days, Mal’s other siblings
arrived from Massachusetts (Madeline and Richard Jr.), North Carolina (Alan),
and Georgia (Carol and her husband Mike). Over the next few weeks there were
lots of visitors at the hospital. Even though it was sad to see Richard lying
in the bed with a feeding tube down his throat, struggling to communicate, I
think he appreciated everyone being there. The stroke affected the muscles of
his throat and he had great difficulty swallowing. Eventually, at Richard’s
insistence, the hospital removed the
feeding tube and put a line directly into his stomach for feeding. This allowed
him to respond to family and friends a little bit better.
Mal and I had to go
back home to Jupiter several times to take care of some things like paying
monthly bills since we didn’t know how long Richard was going to be
hospitalized. As it turned out, after a little over four weeks, Richard A.
Daher died in the hospital on September 13, 2003 with many of his family members
at his side.
Richard’s funeral
was to be held in Saint Michael’s Catholic Church in Hudson, Massachusetts
where he had lived for a long time. The whole family gathered the night before
the service at Mal’s sister Madeline’s home and they all contributed
information and anecdotes about Richard in order to create a eulogy. Mal’s younger
brother Alan volunteered to present it at the church and he did a great job. As
the funeral service neared the end, the priest was waving the containers of
burning incense around Richard’s casket, nearly choking those closest to it
with the smoke and stench. Denis leaned over to Helen and said, “Richard got to
smoke one last time.”
After the church
service we went to the cemetery and Richard was buried with his wife Madeline.
Later that evening we all gathered at Mal’s sister Madeline’s home again and we
shared thoughts and stories about Richard. Losing such an important family
member made us realize that we should try to make plans for a regular family
get-together while we were all still alive and healthy. Early the next morning
Mal and I said goodbye and began the long, 26 hour drive home to Florida.
