I arrived in Minnesota on Sunday March 6th and by this time my Dad was not awake. He would raise his eyebrows a bit and try unsuccessfully to open his
eyes. He still had a lot of strength in his arms and hands though. A week later, on Sunday, March 13, 2022, my dear sweet Dad transitioned back to pure light (more about the miracles on the day of his passing below).
My Dad, Donald Fitch, was 97 1/2 years old!! He outlived all of his siblings and many of his friends and outlived my mom by 18 years. He lived quite a full life. He served in WWII on the USS Essex for 18 months and received 9 battle stars. Their ship (an aircraft carrier) was hit by a Japanese
kamikaze airplane, which killed several men who were on deck at the time. My Dad and his shipmates thought they might be going home, but instead the ship was patched up and they continued on. My Dad's favorite duty on the ship was setting all the clocks onboard.
Dad was an entreprenuer (that's where I get it from) and owned 13 different businesses in his lifetime, including the first Beer Nut franchise in Minnesota, a driving range, and several coffee shops downtown St. Paul. He and my mom ran the 3M chemolite plant cafeteria in Cottage Grove for 20 years (prior
to that he delivered sandwiches there). He also was a co-owner and built the Fox and Hounds (now the Cork and Pint) off of 35E in St. Paul. He built Donny's Supper Club too (which was later turned into the Bali Hai and is now a strip mall near Hwy 36 and White Bear Avenue). He owned the Sherwood Lounge on White Bear Ave for many years and continued to work there after he sold the place to a dear employee, who continues to own and run the place today.
My Dad was a great golfer, too. He was a 1 handicap for 2 weeks and a 2 handicap for 5 years. He shot a 65 at Southview and tied the course record at the time. He shot his age many times over the years (his pal Charlie Walters used to write about him in the Pioneer Press newspaper) and he also had 3 holes
in one.
Most of all, my Dad was a great father. He taught me the value of education (he finished his degree at St. Thomas, my alma mater, in 3 years, while also playing college hockey). He inspired me to read books as we would go to the library every Monday night. He taught me to enjoy the sweeter things in life,
like fudge and peanut butter M&Ms. And he taught me to do what I love for work because you spend a lot of time working.
It’s been such a different experience with his passing than it was 18 years ago with my mom when I was not as spiritually awake or aware. I want to take this time to share some of the miracles that occurred with his passing.
The night before he died, I talked to my Dad through a Moving Heart Meditation. (This is a feng shui exercise intended to assist you in communicating with another person when they are not present. It can even assist when the other person is no
longer living. Note, this meditation is something I have only shared with my Love Your Life members.)
I asked my Dad what he needed or wanted to feel safe to transition. He said he wanted all 6 of us siblings together. I told him I would do my best to make that happen, but honestly was a little skeptical I’d be able to pull it off because a few of my sisters were barely speaking to one
another. I come from a large family (I have 4 sisters and a brother).
As one sister and I were driving to see Dad that afternoon, I received a major sign that this was to be the day of his transition. We were nearly there, and I saw an EAGLE floating above the road. I slowed down because it began to descend right in front of me. And then I had to brake again
to avoid hitting it because the eagle swooped down right in front of the car! It picked up a squirrel on the road and lifted up just as I was passing by it. I had all over body chills and felt like I was witnessing magic. My sister thought perhaps Dad had transitioned right then, but I didn’t think so, because I knew he wanted us all together before he would leave.
We arrived and checked on Papa right away. He was breathing heavier than the last time we saw him and his skin had also started to mottle, which is a sign of organs shutting down (not getting enough oxygen). My sister and niece decided to go for a walk since two of us were there to watch over Dad. Another
sister arrived when they were gone, as I had invited her to come even though she had only been spending brief periods of time there due to the conflicts. This day, however, she stayed for several hours. So now, we had 4/6 siblings there. I didn't feel guided to reach out to my brother, but lo and behold he showed up on his own! I’m sure Divine guided him to come. Then we were just missing one more sister. I texted her and asked if she was coming for dinner. I said we were all there except her
and I felt Dad wanted that. She said they were planning on coming and would be there in about 15 minutes.
When the last sister arrived, I suggested we all gather around Dad. That’s when she asked if we wanted to pray the rosary with him. She had the thought (again Divinely guided) to bring her rosary along. I thought that was a wonderful idea because my Dad was very religious and it would be soothing for him. We
took turns speaking the rosary out loud in a call and response type fashion. All of us were crying quite heavily during this time but each of us pulled it together while we our decade of the rosary. During this time I called in Archangels Michael and Azrael as well as Jesus and asked them to escort Dad home to heaven. I felt at peace then, knowing that Dad had gotten his wish, with help from me and the Divine.
Part of me expected him to transition right then. However, the visual the Angels showed me is that they were walking him up the steps of heaven and he kept stopping and looking back so they told me it was going to take more time at this pace (lol).
My brother left shortly after that and the rest of us ate the meal we had brought. Three more of us left and 2 sisters and my niece remained. We left about 6pm and a few minutes after 8pm we got the call that he was gone.
The day after Dad transitioned, I talked to him, and he told me he’s so happy! He was having a grand reunion with his mom and dad, his sister and brothers, my Mom, and so many friends. He said he doesn’t hurt anymore and he’s happy to be free of his body. And he thanked me for my help with his crossing. So
sweet. Mom and Dad have also shown up as deer in the backyard of my sister's house too. And my sons and I keep seeing eagles (real or pictures or statues)😊
