Join us for an interfaith service celebration of life for Gustav A. Nystrom (May 10, 1948 to April 2, 2022). Gus was a great friend of MCC who regularly attended MCC Friday Jumu’ah prayer services in interfaith solidarity and supported and championed the outreach and growth of the Muslim community in Tri-Valley.
This will be an interfaith service. Gus wanted all to feel welcome and appreciated. Casual attire is suggested. There will be time to share stories and memories.
Fruit juices (his favorite beverages) and some treats are to be provided.
Celebration of Life for Gustav A. Nystrom
May 10, 1948 – April 2, 2022
Where:Â Lynnewood Methodist Church, 4444 Black Ave., Pleasanton, CA
When: Saturday, April 30, 2022, at 1 pm
This will be an interfaith service. Gus wanted all to feel welcome and appreciated. Casual attire is suggested. There will be time to share stories and memories.
International potluck social gathering following the service in the church hall – please bring your favorite International dish to share (you can drop off in the hall). Fruit juices (his favorite beverages) and some treats to be provided.
Questions or suggestions:Â nystromc@georgetown.edu
Please RSVP so we can share any updates and get an idea of how much food we will need: https://forms.gle/2XiqzhnsvT7qsNTQ9
Please forward this on to others who knew him (or even knew of him) as his impact was wide.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to one of his favorite charities in his name – we will hand out a list at the service and will also email it out.
Thank you for caring so much about our dad, David and Christina
In September 2019, after years of struggling, my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He declined rapidly, physically and cognitively. In March of 2020 he was put on hospice. The following month, at the urging of hospice and ramping up of COVID, I moved him into a board and care (residential home where all of the residents have some form of dementia) nearby. The caregivers treated him with dignity, respect and love – and I was able to visit frequently. In September of 2021 he was taken off of hospice because he no longer met the physical criteria to keep him on. Hospice was a gift from God. The nurse/case manager was extraordinarily helpful – and other hospice services including dementia resources and social workers were invaluable. He passed away on Saturday, April 2, 2022. It was peaceful and sudden and he was not alone.
You all know he used to love talking – about social justice, and politics, and religion – in the past 2 years he listened but didn’t contribute much to conversations. He started to communicate thoughts, but forgot his point sometimes mid-sentence or got confused, which frustrated him.
Until the end he still enjoyed fruit juices (mango, guava, orange) and visits from his mom (Gigi, who lives in San Jose now), my Uncle Hal (his brother, lives in Sunnyvale) and my brother (Dave, lives in Davis) and I. My Aunt Linda and I have taken turns cutting his hair and trimming his beard. My daughter, Ashley (15), seems to elicit the most smiles and enthusiasm from him – from everyone, actually. My son, Thomas (13) can get chatty with him, but it takes a little more nudging.
My dad has always said that the most important thing to him was his dignity – he would have been crushed to know what his life was like towards the end.
As with my grandfather when he had Alzheimer’s, my dad was prone to doing some silly things over the past several years. My hope is that my kids remember more than just the “funny Alzheimer’s things” Tito has done. I hope they are proud of his unbelievable intelligence, passion for helping the less fortunate, devotion to equality for all, true enjoyment of learning about and respecting other cultures, commitment to religious understanding and inclusion, generosity with too many charities to mention, genuine fidelity to peace and justice, and love of being in love. And I hope when they see a map or a Denny’s, they think of him.
If you have a story you would like to share with my brother and I and my kids, about their grandfather, I would be so touched if you send it to me. I really do want them to be proud of him – have a balanced view of him and his life. They might not care too much now, but they will, as they grow older and their life perspective broadens.
Attached are a few recent pictures of my dad with various family. In preparation for sending this message out I started looking at old pictures of my dad with my kids …. he went a lot of places with us and was usually gleefully up for anything. I made a  slideshow and a few video clips.
