2_4_2009 Rop 49

PER S PAY E A R W NE THE OF

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2009

FROM THE

H E A RT READERS SHARE THEIR STORIES

COURTESY PHOTOS

JOHN CHAMBERS’ FAMILY gathers around him upon his return from the hospital. From left are his daughters Amy, Mary, and Michaela, and his wife, Ann. John died Sunday.

FRIEND FOR LIFE Those touched by one man’s work help brighten his last days “From the Heart” is an occasional series of stories written by local residents. Today, Mary Chambers of Bridgewater writes about her father, John. By Mary Chambers SPECIAL TO THE ENTERPRISE

M

y father has been working on our kitchen for about three years. My father is a finish carpenter with his own business and is constantly making people’s dreams come true through his hard work and dedication to perfection. Last March, my father was diagnosed with cancer. My family consists of three girls, Michaela, 19, Amy, 20, myself (Mary) 24, my mother, Ann, 49, and my father, John — he just turned 58. About 10 years ago, we put an addition onto our two-bedroom, one-bath house. We did most of the work ourselves, from staining the finish work to grouting the tile in the new bathroom. It took a good amount of time, maybe five years, for the addition to be ready. A few years after we got settled into our “new home” work started on the “old part.” We gutted the inside of the house. Slowly but surely, everything started coming together ... walls went up, the shower was put in. Believe me, this didn’t happen overnight. This was my Dad’s baby, and he was determined to be there every step of the way. Of course he had to keep working though, and so things may not have happened as quickly as he would have liked. As I mentioned earlier, my father was diagnosed with cancer in March of ’08. The summer rolled along quietly. He continued to work all summer long, taking every other Monday off for his clinical trial at MGH in Boston. He tiled the bathroom in the now, “new part” of the house, and grouted it. He and my mother looked at kitchens together, at every aspect of that house, down to the stained glass that would go in the bathroom “window” looking out onto the dining room. At the end of September, he had to be rushed to the hospital. This ended up in a two-week stay, in which the doctors didn’t think he’d be able to come home. My mother, sisters and I were there every

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FRIENDS OF JOHN CHAMBERS finished the kitchen he had been working on for several years after cancer forced him to stop working on his “baby.” day, my mother especially, sleeping on a cot by his side for nights in a row. When he came around enough to be able to tell us what he wanted, it was clear that getting home was all that was on his mind. Continuously, he got stronger, and by midOctober the doctors gave us the word — he could come home. Pretty much from the minute we got home, my dad started making calls, figuring out who was going to put the new roof on, or who was going to hook up the plumbing and electricity. Thanksgiving passed, and Christmas. We got a card from Debbie Brown on Christmas with a picture of her new home on the front. One of the last jobs my dad worked on was her gorgeous new home in Kingston. Inside the card was a handwritten note thanking him for all of his hard work, and not stopping until the job was done just the way she had wanted it. Planning for the “new part” was in full force,

and by early January the new kitchen was installed. The new kitchen had a brand-new stove that Debbie Blaise gave to us (my dad used to work for her — she is a real estate broker), because my dad had always been so good to her. Donny Brown, of Brown Builders, gave us a new toilet, microwave and dishwasher, and paid for half of the kitchen. He and my dad were good friends — they would go on fishing trips together. My dad called him “Donny Brown from Donkey Town.” More recently, Peter Oakley and his cabinet guy, Bob, installed our kitchen cabinets for no charge — Peter is a builder my dad worked for maybe 20 years ago. Mark Bradford installed the plumbing — he’s an old friend and

colleague of my dad’s. Billy Brown, (Donny Brown’s brother) installed the electricity just two days ago, staying late although he had errands to run for his own family. Jake Philbrick and Bob Hamm put up the finish work just the way my dad designed it. My dad turned 58 on Jan. 16. For his birthday we brought him downstairs to unveil his kitchen that so many people generously donated their time and money to complete. My mother took him around in the wheelchair as he checked out every aspect of the kitchen and bathroom in awe. He hadn’t been out of his bed in over a month, and stayed downstairs for over a half hour. He even had a bite of birthday cake. The next day, Jan. 17, I was sitting upstairs with him, and he said out of the blue, “I was downstairs yesterday. I finally got to be in my house.” It is now almost the end of January, and my father has stopped eating and can barely drink. I just hope he knows how many people care about him, and his family. He is an amazing man, my dad. The strongest, most loving person anyone could ask to be in their life. I know that for sure. Just knowing that so many other people feel the same way brings a smile to my heart, and the hearts of everyone in my family — especially in this very hard time. This stuff doesn’t happen every day, and it is a huge testament to who my dad is, not only as a father or husband, but as a colleague, a friend ... a man. John Chambers passed away Sunday morning. His daughter, Mary, submitted this story last week. Visiting hours for John will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Prophett-Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 98 Bedford St., Bridgewater. Chambers’ obituary is on Page 6. ... If you have a story you’d like to send to “From the Heart,” please e-mail it to [email protected], or call 508427-4022.