Silence was a great indicator that something was wrong. No emails or phone calls came from our long time friend. We were unable to communicate with him in any way. Just recently, we saw a post on another site, that forced us to realize our greatest fears. Our friend had passed.
The purpose of this message is to memorialize Joe Sudol, in the best way we can. Although Joe lived in the area for much longer than many of you, he was not well known. Joe had a few close friends, but did many things for people in the community that went unnoticed, by his own design.
One example of this was a young man that did yard work and wanted to attend the police academy. At that time, the candidates needed to pay for their own uniforms, as well as other expenses. Joe and another man got together and provided these items. What seemed like a long time passed, and Joe being Joe, began to wonder if he had been taken. One day, he was told that someone was at the gate to see him. Joe approached the gate to find a newly installed member of the local police force, grinning at him. While Joe would never purchase a drum for a school age child, claiming there were far too many already, Joe silently did more than his share, in a very direct manor.
When my friend Alison gave me a sad example of the need for shoes, for school age children. Joe helped me to deliver the containers of shoes that my husband and I shipped in our container. Many were handed out through the dental unit through Mario and Linda, but Joe knew the need on the back roads. Many shoes were tried on and handed out via the tailgate system of our pickup truck. Joe also enlisted the help of Rod, who owned a shoe factory, in bringing in shoes to help our "soles for souls" project.
Joe helped me get settled into our new home, while Jim was back in Missouri for the first six months. He taught me how to shop, showing me the ropes of David. He mowed, hung pictures and taught me how to cook in the Panamanian style. He showed me how to plant my first pineapple top and later shared it with me.
Joe loved nature, feeding dogs and hawks alike. He had a special love of hawks and claimed he never observed them taking out birds, sharing their space, as the hawks were well fed. Joe knew all the out of the way places to fish and enjoyed going there on his own. He loved the beaches. He loved the people. He loved life.
He and I shared a history of retiring from teaching. Financial planning was another one of his professions, in later years. Joe enjoyed that back roads on his motorcycle and would travel into areas most expats had never seen.
If you had discussions with Joe, you know that you were not likely to change his opinion on anything, anytime soon. Hopefully, he approves this memorial and is smiling down, with a good cigar in his mouth.
Kira and Chelsea, I know he will live on forever in your hearts. With the best of memories, friends Abby and Jim Lofgren
