Terry  Lee Easter

My beautiful, beloved, one of a kind daddy Terry Easter rose to the heavens in the early hours of November 13th, in the sole and continuous presence, love and care of my mom and me. His transition was natural, gentle, painless, and deeply faith affirming. What a gift, for a 14 month long battle with pancreatic cancer to be met with such genuine peace and grace. From beginning to end, his character remained the bravest and strongest I've known. benevolent as he ever was. He earned every gleaming feather of those wings.
 

I love my dad fiercely. Deeply. Forever. And ever. God couldn't have created a more perfect fatherly guide for my particular soul. We were confidantes, buddies, each other's pride and joy, and neighbors throughout my whole adult life. He called me his heart. And he had mine. The constancy of my dad's unconditional love balanced my compass, became my North Star, in trusting myself and recognizing all things steady and true.

 

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My dad was the son of baseball legend Luke Easter, yet his own star shone in his own right, with a lifelong lasting brightness. His days as a college basketball star and Hollywood music executive were stories of glitz and glamour and running in circles of fame that I was only told of by those who knew him when. The chapters of him I know up close are of Terry Easter, steadfast till the end, patient as a saint, dad of dreams, a role I'd put him into the Hall of Fame for if I could.
 

I stand today, heartbroken, and proud. My dad now, is an ancestor. Those whose blood and bones and spirits are ours, as much as we are ourselves. I felt their strength surround me like the swell of the sea on the night they came for him. The night my mom and I sang hymns a capella and chanted prayers at his bedside and filled his room with candles and love, reassurance and music. My dad. An ancestor. Enshrined in us. Eternal. 

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We will continue to take care of each other in your name. I will continue to love you every day of my life hereafter, as I have every day of my life before. I will tell and retell the stories of you and your dad to my son, so Mikah will always know the sturdiness of the shoulders he stands upon, the greatness that came before him.

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Our history is 76 years deeper now. 

Our totem is one man taller. 

Our story is one lifetime greater. 

Our foundation, one hero stronger.
 

Rest in peace my beautiful, perfect dad.
Fly in freedom.
Rise in power. 
 

It's been my profound honor to be your daughter.
I love you. 

My beautiful Daddy.
Forever and ever and ever. 

 

 Anika Easter