Deconstructing Grief

Opening my heart. Grieving the loss of Robert Doherty, loss of others, loss of self. Coping with life. Doing our best. No regrets.

Proem

My first podcast episode took an interview my dear friend, Bob Doherty, videotaped with my son, Mike Funk, a couple of months before Mike died in 2002. I took the soundtrack of that VHS tape and overlayed a chat I recorded with Bob in 2018. Bob and my unusual, deep relationship began when he was my boss at St. Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center (listen to last week’s episode for a brief description of some of the work we did together). My wife and I became dear friends with Bob. Bob died on August 3rd of complications of stomach cancer. I grieve.

Meeting and working with Bob Doherty

Bob and I first met when he interviewed me for a job. I asked him for his references. He laughed (great laugh) and gave me a couple of references that I called. Bob’s a good guy, can be challenging, doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Bob loved to tell that story whenever he could. Bob said to me as his Director of Quality Management, you’re in the difficult position in that you’re the conscience of the company and you want to be liked. How do you navigate that? He also said that I was an acquired taste. I told that story as often as I could. Bob was a breath of fresh air.