Love remains the greatest gift of all

Love remains the greatest gift of all 
The Eagle-Tribune; Commentary by Raymond Hackett, Jr.;  12/28/24 
On Christmas Eve in the year 2000, an article I wrote, "Love is the greatest gift of all," was published in the Haverhill Gazette, a sister paper to The Eagle-Tribune. At the time, my grandmother Frances V. (Anderson) Marchand Mears, was a resident of Penacook Place nursing home on Water Street in Haverhill. She was afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. As young as 6 years old I knew I loved writing. That year I handed my grandmother a birthday card I made for her on her St. Patrick's Day. ... She has since passed. However, on Oct. 7 of this year, we found ourselves at Penacook Place again, this time to bring our father, Raymond Hackett. It was a difficult day for my family. We knew he was at that stage of Alzheimer's disease when he really needed 24-hour care. ... A hospice nurse showed up and checked my father's vital signs. ... My father died about a month later on Dec. 15, but we forever have that day, when we left the nursing home saddened and facing the inevitable. We also left with the knowledge that blessings come in many – sometimes unexpected – ways, and that love will always and forever be the greatest gift of all.