On being diagnosed with a terminal condition, George simply decided to let nature take its course. That decision, apart from being brave, was both wise and powerful.

It enabled him to retain effective control over his residual days. Importantly, it brought about unexpected serenity into his own mindset and in the response of his family and friends to his condition. 

Serenity, in its turn, made it possible for everyone to derive maximum enjoyment from all those moments to be spent together in reciprocal visits and shared meals, not to mention trips abroad.

George and I were born exactly on the same day, as we discovered during a student travel trip. On January 29, a month before his passing, George and I comfortably co-celebrated our milestone 80th birthday.

That was some 10 months after the diagnosis. George derived much solace from his faith-based vision of what lies hereafter. There was one emotion that stood out whenever George and his friends socialised. Not so much care or friendship, but love.

Everyone loved George – a reality that was tangible during the funeral mass. George’s love for others transcended self-interest and all those related chemistries.

As everyone walked out of the church at the end of the funeral, battling the tears, I realised that with such a triumphal exit, we should all have been smiling.

Raymond Vassallo