JWG's daughter was kind enough to give us permission to post her message here, so here it is. :)
Some of you, probably most, knew my father as jwg and knew him very well. I came on the site tonight because the memorial was held today in remembrance of his life. I wish i could personally thank every person who sent emails, cards, and letters for the service, it means more then you'll ever know. I also want to thank everyone that was here for him at the beginning of his quit and supporting him along the way, we were so proud of him to overcome his addiction to better his life, and that he did. There is no way for me to ever be able to express my most deepest and extensive gratitude for qsmb for all of the support and love you shared with my father in his final days. Or for the friendships and support you provided with him even before the devastating diagnosis. I also wanna take time in this post to send my sympathy to all of you who loved him, i know just how difficult life without his guidance and kind, smart, and some times non sense words is, some days i feel as if its impossible, others i know it is, i seen my dad loose his father to the same battle and i also seen my father morn over the loss for many years, but i seen him grow stronger and maybe he never really found peace after his dads passing but he did find life, he found so much to this world then just continuing a never ending battle with himself and cigarettes, he never let them win. Its been exactly 6 months to the day since i lost my father to never see again, to never share another conversation with, or to ever simply receive a "have a good day" text. Many days i still wait for them to come, hoping maybe its all just been an awful nightmare. And I'm a big girl i know its not, but sometimes reality is hard to face, and in the same moment i find myself trying to cover up a feeling instead of facing it i think more about my father and how much like him i am, and for that i am forever blessed. So many times during the memorial today, people would say, "your definitely your fathers daughter" " your just like your father" "thats in your genes" and even though ive heard this my whole life, theres no compliment greater in the whole wide world then to hear me compared to the greatest man to ever live. To you guys he was a writer and a story teller, to me he was my daddy, and my best friend, i hope to be half the parent he is to me for my children, and to always make him proud. Maybe one day ill be a writer too. But for now i just need some time. I hope you guys continue with your quit.