This would be my luck ... Man Wins $10M Lottery The Day He Dies

DANBURY, Conn. – On the day that Donald Peters died, he unknowingly provided financial security for his wife of 59 years and their family.

Peters bought two Connecticut Lottery tickets at a local 7-Eleven store on Nov. 1 as part of a 20-year tradition he shared with his wife Charlotte. Later that day, the 79-year-old retired hat factory worker suffered a fatal heart attack while working in his yard in Danbury.

On Friday, his widow cashed in one of the tickets: a $10 million winner which, in her grief over her husband's death, she had put aside and almost discarded before recently checking the numbers.

"I'm numb," Charlotte Peters, 78, said at Connecticut Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill.
Donald Peters usually bought the tickets for 10 weeks at a stretch, so the winning ticket he bought Nov. 1 for the Dec. 2 drawing was among several that Charlotte Peters put aside as she, their three children and two grandchildren coped with his sudden death.

"I was in the grocery store and I had it checked and they told me I was a winner," she said. "I had no idea how much it was."

She said she thought she had won $6 million but was surprised to learn from lottery officials she'd won $10 million.

Charlotte Peters has 60 days to decide whether to take a $6 million pre-tax lump sum payment or stretch the winnings into 21 yearly payments of almost $477,300 each.
She does not yet know what she will do with the money.

"I've always wanted a Corvette, but I don't think I'll buy one. I'll stick to a small car. I might go to Mohegan Sun," she said, referring to the casino in Connecticut. "I'm going to go home and sit and think."

The Peters children think their father would have appreciated the irony.

"He'd be very mad, he just passed away and she won a lot of money," said Brian Peters, one of the couple's three children. "He'd say, 'Figures!'" (Source)

Edie Adams ... The Muriel Cigar Girl

Edie Adams died yesterday. A true glamourous woman of the 50s and 60s. Anyone remember the "Muriel Cigar" commericals with Edie Adams? They were among one of the favorites for many kids (and adults) back in the early 1960's for its catchy tune.

Hannah Wickham .... Funeral to be treated as a Wedding

This is sad; courageous, brave and beautiful. And, I can't even imagine what the parents and husband are going through . . . and, it's beautiful that everyone knows that love lives on and death is not the end.

Australian swimming legend Tracey Wickham will farewell her teenage daughter Hannah who died of cancer, just hours after she married her "soul mate".

The funeral service for Hannah, 19, will be held at 2pm (AEST) Sunday in the chapel of All Hallows School in Brisbane where she was a student until two years ago.

Hannah, who died on Tuesday, was to marry 20-year-old Tom O'Driscoll, whom she met in hospital while he too was being treated for cancer, on the Sunshine Coast later this month.
Both went into remission, but the cancer returned for Hannah, who was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer which attacks the body's tissue.

When it became clear Hannah would not make it through Monday night, a priest was called to Brisbane's Wesley Hospital and the two married in front of 20 close friends and family.
Tracey Wickham, dual swimming world champion and former holder of the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle world records, said she took comfort her daughter had her dying wish.
The funeral would be treated as the wedding her daughter wanted so much.

"And other than walking back down the aisle as Mr and Mrs O'Driscoll, we'll be carrying her in her wedding dress to her resting place and I think she'll be wanting to know that the wedding will still go ahead, it's just that she'll be there in spirit," Wickham said.

Hannah will be farewelled as a wedding celebration that will include bridesmaids, groomsmen and a dog carrying wedding rings. "She's going to be buried in her wedding dress and there will be six bridesmaids and groomsmen, including my son."Their little dog is going to be carrying the rings up in the chapel." She also wanted to be married barefoot and will be buried barefoot.

Wickham has vowed to dedicate the rest of her life to finding a cure for the rare cancer Hannah died from, which is suffered mostly by teenagers, through her daughter's The Hannah's Chance Foundation.

"I know I was given a gift to swim fast and I know it wasn't now to win gold medals or for pats on the back," she said.

The Wesley Research Institute has established the foundation in Hannah's memory to fund future research projects into her rare cancer.

ONE of Hannah Ciobo's closest friends has revealed the full story of her engagement to Tom O'Driscoll, whom she married on her deathbed on Monday night.

Megan O'Dowd, who was due to visit the 19-year-old in hospital on the day she died, told NEWS.com.au that Hannah, the most beautiful girl also had the most romantic of engagements.
The daughter of record-breaking swimmer Tracey Wickham, Hannah died early on Tuesday morning, having married Mr O'Driscoll to fulfil her dying wish.

Ms O'Dowd said that when Mr O'Driscoll proposed to Hannah on a quiet beach, they had no idea that someone was watching them.

''Her little brother was hiding in the bushes videotaping it,'' Ms O'Dowd said. She said that only a few friends knew about the engagement before a small get-together at Hannah's house one night.

''We were all at her house, and they put on the video. ''Hannah wasn't wearing her ring before that she was so happy. ''I think she wanted to surprise everyone.'' Ms O'Dowd said that Hannah was an inspiration to everyone who would put others ahead of herself. ''She was just the bravest person she would put everyone else first,'' she said. ''Everyone just loved her shell be missed forever.'' Ms O'Dowd said that Mr O'Driscoll was the perfect match for Hannah, but the two didnt start going out straight away.

''There was a bit of mucking around. ''I saw Tom last night he's being very brave.
''He was asking how are you, how are you.'' She also said that Hannahs funeral, scheduled for Sunday, would be more like a wedding.

A Penny For Your Thoughts

Lois Maxwell AKA/ Miss Moneypenny the flirtatious and dignified British Secret Service secretary to James Bond died on October 1, 2007 of Cancer. What an endearing legacy she left behind.

Ms. Maxwell played Bond's secretary in 14 movies spanning 23 years, starting in 1962 with "Dr. No," until 1985 "A View To A Kill." The character Moneypenny was always remembered because of the flirtatious nature she had with a smile, a glance or brief word; and she was an efficient secretary.

Bond's (That's James Bond) secretary also traded suggestive banter with Agent 007 who would occasionally perch himself on the edge of her desk. Believe it or not she uttered no more than 200 words in all of her Bond films and her total on time screen time amounted to no more than an hour or two.

According to the Washington Post (10/2/07), her lines were limited ... but the impact of delivery was huge: "James you're late." or "When are we going to have that dinner?" And once when he left for a mission, Bond asked Moneypenny: "What can I bring your from Amsterdam?" "A diamond ... in a ring," she responded. They agreed to settle on a tulip. Always suggestive with an undercurrent, and always coy : )

The real Ms. Maxwell was born 2/14/1927 in Kitchner Ontario and perfomed during WWII when she joined a Canaidan Military unit sent to Britain to entertain the troops. In England she received a scholarship into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts where she actually went to school with Roger Moore (who would later become one of the James Bonds).

Maxwell made a few movies, married Peter Marriott and had 2 children. Her husband became ill, and with 2 small children and no money, she called producers she had worked with and asked for help. Terence Young who directed her in a 1948 drama "Corridor of Mirrors," gave her a choice of two roles in the first Bond Film. She chose Moneypenny.

In 1986 she returned to Canada where she operated a business and wrote a three-times-a-week column for the Toronto Sun.

Her orignal names was Lois Hooker. Considered a ihindrance to an acting career her last name was changed.

Death by "Car, Yachts and Accident"

I don't know why, but everyone is interested in how someone passed. Ask anyone. And we are all interested in the famous ... (at least I am). You never know when death is going to knock, so when I came across this interesting website that lists famous people killed by cars called Who2 -- well, I had to take some time and read. Lots of interesting facts and history ...for instance; Author MARGARET MITCHELL lived nearly all her life in Atlanta, the setting of a famous scene from her novel Gone With the Wind. On August 11 of 1949 she was crossing an Atlanta street on her way to the theater when she was hit by a speeding cab. She died of her injuries five days later.

Silent film star TOM MIX was killed in a freak auto accident on 12 October 1940. Famous for his high-living ways -- including his love of fast cars -- Mix was speeding across Arizona in his roadster when he unexpectedly encountered a bridge under construction. Braking and swerving sharply, Mix dislodged a heavy suitcase from the luggage rack behind him. The suitcase crashed forward into Mix's head, killing him. '

Then there is Death by Yacht; which I guess one of the more recent and most known is Actress NATALIE WOOD who died near Catalina Island on Thanksgiving weekend of 1981. She was spending the holiday on the yacht Splendour with her husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken, her co-star in the movie Brainstorm. She disappeared sometime after dinner on the night of 28 November; the next morning her body was found floating nearly a mile from the Splendour, dressed in a nightgown and down jacket. No one had seen or heard her leave the yacht; the ship's dinghy was also found drifting at sea. "Coroner to the Stars" Thomas Noguchi ruled accidental death, suggesting that Wood had slipped and fallen overboard. Hollywood gossips hinted at a romantic triangle (and a 2000 Vanity Fair article claimed that Wood had climbed into the dinghy after a drunken argument with Wagner), but nothing of the sort was ever proved.

and another strange link: Death by Accident

In the early 1930s, future director JOHN HUSTON was considered a rising young talent in the movie business. A natural raconteur and ardent carouser, Huston was hired on as a studio screenwriter. On 25 September 1933 Huston was driving on Sunset Boulevard and hit a woman pedestrian, killing her. A grand jury was convened, but returned no charges against him. He left the United States for Europe and didn't return to Hollywood until 1937. He went on to direct some of the most famous films of the 20th century, including The Maltese Falcon (1941), The African Queen (1951) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975).

Great Site.... "Dark Stories" ...Unusual and true stories!

Dark Stories is a really cool (and scary) website. Great reads if you like the unusual and a great variety of topics. They are still adding info to the site, and if you have a good yarn to tell, you can send it to them. Plus, Halloween is coming up ... believe me; you can find some great stories for the party or campfire here : ) You will find on this site various texts on subjects if you like the strange one, supernatural stories, mysteries, myths and legends. Topics include: Swindle and forgers; Myths and legends, Eccentric People; Gost Stories and my favorite; Bad luck and coinidiences. Check out this story:

- THE CORNSTALK CURSE -

Almost two centuries before the shadow of the Mothman reared its head in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the land around the Ohio River ran red with blood. As the inhabitants of the American colonies began to push their way to the west, and later fought for their independence from Britain, they entered into deadly combat with the Native American inhabitants of the land. Perhaps their greatest foe in these early Indian wars was Chief Cornstalk, who later became a friend to the Americans. But treachery, deception and murder would bring an end to the chief’s life and a curse that he placed on Point Pleasant would linger for 200 years, bringing tragedy, death and disaster.... (click here for more)

From Suicide to the Kiss of Life

In the 1890s, an unknown woman was found drowned in the Seine. Known as the l'Inconnue de la Seine, her death mask became a fixture in the homes of artists and writers, and her look the ideal of the age. Many have speculated on her identity, and she has inspired a long list of artistic works by Nabokov, Rilke, Man Ray, and others. She has since become the "most kissed girl in the world" thanks to the Norwegian toymaker that used her mask to create Resusci Anne, the standard CPR doll.

Read more at Wikipedia

Gross Anatomy ... Do You Understand? I said, Gross Anatomy : )

"Most people remember their first kiss. Doctors remember their first cadaver. For Bruce Giffin, it was a 60-something man named Charlie. Good muscle tone. No pesky pathology. “And just the right amount of body fat,” Giffin said.

All in all, Giffin said, Charlie was an ideal cadaver for a young medical student learning the intricacies of human anatomy. Giffin, a professor of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, directs the College of Medicine’s body donation program. He’s also planning to be a donor himself.

Every year, the university receives 350 to 360 bodies donated for use in their medical education programs. Other medical schools are eliminating cadaver dissection programs because of cost and other concerns, but UC’s body donation program is one of the strongest in the nation.
The concept is macabre – volunteers donating their bodies to be cut up in anatomy classes – but what students learn from working with their first real cadaver is invaluable.

Most will be dissected in gross anatomy classes, said Gina Burg, coordinator of the donation program. Others will be used to help doctors perfect surgical techniques.

It’s a morbid concept, and there are endless possibilities for gruesome jokes. But, experts say, men and women like Charlie provide an invaluable educational resource for medical students as they learn how the body works.

The dissection process is an unparalleled chance for exploration: Learning the layers of skin, fat and muscle, the intricate connections between muscles, ligaments and bones, the endless tangles of blood vessels and nerves. Anatomy texts give medical students a general idea of what to expect, but no two bodies are alike, Giffin said. . . " { Enquirer Continue reading } (source)

Skullerflies, Day of the Dead --- Hair Raising .....

A little shameless self promotion... I promise I won't keep doing this. But they are so cute, and they do go with my site ... kinda : )

Fashionable girl? Like the Rockabilly, Punk, Goth scene or just like being unique? Or perhaps you are going to a Halloween Party? Want something unique and different. Get Go Retro is selling Skullerflies (handmade by Lucky 11) uniquely original barrettes made of feathers with a "day of the dead" skull in the middle. They are really cool looking and can be worn on other days that "Halloween" but since that holiday is coming up -- its' something to think about. We are also carrying their Hair Roses with Skulls inside. Check them out. Very affordable! Oh yeah, and did I say this is a little bit of shameless self promotion : ) ?

Remembering Elvis. The Man. The Music.

How can you let today go by without remembering Elvis. The man. The Music.

Scamp "The Dog Who Can Sense Death," HMMMM, we have a contest ....

On Inside Edition today ..... A dog that can sense death (and they say he is better than Oscar the Cat (he has 42 deaths on record compared to Oscars 25 (at this date))). But any how, Scamp .... Isn't he cute : ) ?

Scamp is the live-in pet at an Ohio nursing home, but the Schnauzer doesn't just bring companionship to the lonely. He has an eerie gift that also allows him to bring comfort to the dying.Scamp can somehow sense when the end is near for one of the old folks. He then waits loyally by their bedside in the final hours.Scamp's owner, Deirdre Huth, is a staff member at the nursing home, The Pines, in Canton. Ohio. She says Scamp even tries to raise the alarm when he gets the feeling that one of the seniors is at death's door."He has either barked or he'll pace around the room. The only time he barks is when he's trying to tell us something's wrong," Huth told INSIDE EDITION.Yvette Notturno had a dear friend in the nursing home, and had heard stories about Scamp's gift. So when she got a call from a nurse that Scamp wouldn't leave her friends' bedside, she came right away knowing that her friend didn't have long,. Yvette's friend, Andrew Popa, died soon after.Another critter made the news recently performing a similar feat. A cat named Oscar is known to curl up on the bed right before a patient dies at a nursing home in Providence, Rhode Island. Oscar's gift was featured in a top medical journal after he predicted more than 20 deaths.But Scamp's record is even more amazing than Oscar's. Director of nursing Adeline Baker says Scamp has forecast practically every one of the 40 or so deaths that have occurred in the three years he's been at the home. She also insists Scamp's presence is welcomed by patients as the end draws near."It's not like he's a grim reaper," she said. "It's kind of comforting to know that maybe at the end of our lives, if we don't have family members, there will be somebody there to be with us."

Adrienne Shelly ... Her Life, Death and the Movie Waitress

What a sad story. I came across this remarkable article about the life, death, and career of Adrienne Shelly by The Observer's Gaby Wood . Once I started reading the piece, I was completely mesmerized, both by the dramatic and tragic circumstances surrounding Shelly's death and by how committed she was to her final film project -- and why.Here's a brief snippet from Wood's article:

"Shelly wrote Waitress when she was pregnant with her daughter, Sophie, who was a toddler by the time it was shot....[Producer Michael] Roiff recalls that when they were editing the film in its final stages, 'one of the things she was most excited about was the fact that she had done this as a woman and as a mother. She was an amazing mum, and I remember one day when we had watched a cut of the film, she turned around and said: "Look, you can do it. Society wants to tell you that you have to choose, but you don't have to choose." To a huge extent, that's what the film's about."Related:In this video, Adrienne Shelly discusses how her feelings about motherhood motivated her to write the script for Waitress. (source Mother of all Blogs)

Near Death Experience Site that is Really, Really Interesting

Interested in Near Death Experiences? Great site I came across here There's actually so much information that I can't put it all down in this blog. But I can tell you ... it is worth reading and you can spend hours sitting on this web page... Trust me. I did.

The Coroner's Journal

Coroner's Journal: Forensics and the Art of Stalking Death is not a Baton Rouge CSI. It is much more disturbing! Dr. Louis Cataldie will take your hand and walk you through the daily life of a coroner. You will feel the human-ness of the victims, their families, and most of all, Dr. Cataldie. This book is not a fictional account of "how exciting and sexy it is to be a coroner". It is pain, frustration, fear, paranoia, courage, love, determination and a first hand view of good triumphing evil. Thank you Dr. Cataldie for having the courage to share your heart and soul with the rest of us who don't live in Baton Rouge. Thank you for reminding us that the evil that rips families apart is not fodder for drama. It is a call to work together and love one another.

"I'll Compost Your Corpse"

“I’ll Compost Your Corpse” – The (Organic) Demise of Ethical Man
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 04. 6.07

Culture & CelebrityWe have previously reported on the BBC’s Ethical Man, AKA Justin Rowlatt, here and here. While Justin is still very much alive and well, the time has come for him to bury his more altruistic alter-ego. In a fitting end to this educational series of reports, he explores an intriguing offer from a viewer – to compost his corpse. As it turns out, this isn’t that easy to do. The environmental problems of cremation and burial are duly discussed, in some detail:

“Apparently, the problem with the way a corpse decomposes at the bottom of a grave is that there isn’t enough oxygen to get a good aerobic compost going. The main by-products of aerobic decomposition include carbon dioxide and water meanwhile anaerobic decomposition produces methane - 23 times as powerful a greenhouse-gas as CO2.”

Nevertheless, it seems that burial or cremation really are the only legal options for disposing of a body in the UK at the present time. Things may be about to change however, as a radical new technique from Sweden may be introduced, involving freezing your body in liquid nitrogen, and then breaking it down into a biodegradable powder. John Crossham, however, is not impressed, arguing that there is too much embodied (sorry - I couldn't resist it) energy in the liquid nitrogen for this to make sense:

“Wouldn’t it be better just to get in a good butcher to cut the body into small and easily ‘compostable’ pieces?”

Ethical Man, may you rest in peace (or is that pieces?)… (source)

Diamonds from cremated remains : ) Bid for a diamond made from Ludwig van Beethoven's hair!

I can't resist ... is it Robert DiNiro's famous line ... "Do you want a piece of me?" Well Life Gem put's a whole new spin on that line : )

Want to have your loved one with you always? No kidding ...Or think about this, passing your loved one down as an heirloom? You can. LifeGems.com has a process where they can turn your cremated ashes into diamonds....

Normally, carbon leaves the body in the form of carbon dioxide during the cremation process, says Mark Bouffard, a LifeGem spokesman. But a patented process that manipulates the oxygen level in the cremation oven allows the carbon to remain. Then, the carbon is collected, heated in a vacuum until it becomes pure graphite, and sent to a lab where a gem is created in six to eight weeks instead of the usual several million years. The diamonds are naturally light blue, but LifeGem is also creating red and yellow ones by removing boron and adding color to the gems. And the diamond owners won't have to worry about misplacing all that remains of Grandma or Grandpa. "Each person has enough carbon to make 50 to 100 life gems," Bouffard says. "We'll store the remaining carbon just in case."

And, right now: To showcase Life Gem's newest technology, they are creating three LifeGem diamonds with the carbon from Ludwig van Beethoven's hair! These will be the only three diamonds ever created from Beethoven’s carbon and could be considered the three most rare and valuable diamonds in the world. Go to their site for more info about this auction! (Click here)

Just remember... diamonds are forever .... (I think Shirley Bassey said that ; ) ) and it seems she is dead on!

"I Told You I Was Sick"

(Source)

Caskets on Parade ... A Death Contest ....

Very interesting site .... Caskets on Parade. It's actually a contest site of sorts. If you read the About Us Page, you will get the following info: : )

Caskets On Parade is the name of our little Ghoul/Death/Dead Pool-type contest. The object of the game is to identify (up to) 75 notable individuals who will die during the contest year. Points are awarded based upon the age and uniqueness of selection of individual Victims of the Grim Reaper.

The contest runs annually (we missed 1986-1987 & 1997-99). Since 1978 our entrants have been making their lists, checking them twice, hopin' to figure out who's sickly, or foolish, or just plain unlucky.

Unlike many of the other contests that you run across on the internet, we accept a fairly large list of potential Victims of the Grim Reaper (75). Also, our contest is scored in four different categories —

• Total Points Scored
• Total Kills Scored
• Solo Kills Scored
• Quality of Kills

We also offer several other "honorary" awards to entrants who:
Give a Good Rookie Performance

• Produce a totally "null" list of potential Grim Reaper victims
• Have failed to notice the most obvious of prior deaths

Like most of the other contests, our's runs for the (Gregorian) calendar year - January 1st through December 31st. For the sake of brevity we employ mnemonic identifiers as a shorthand notation in our various listings & databases to identify the contest entrants.
During January we compile the accepted entries and post all of the projected Grim Reaper Victims and their selectors on this website. On a regular basis an Update of Standings is published / updated in the relevant contest year subsite; we've finally gotten out of the printing & mailing business.

Entry submission takes place in the week before New Year's Eve. The 2007 Contest is currently under way; too late to enter. However ... the 2008 Contest will be here before you know it; get to work on those submission lists now.

If you'd like to read more dead-poolish blather, click on through to our collection of FAQ pages (Frequently Asked Qustions).

Check out their Grim Reaper Page: Victims of the Grim Reaper

Eternal Embrace .... Love lasts a lifetime

Isn't this beautiful?

A pair of human skeletons lie in an eternal embrace at an Neolithic archaeological dig site near Mantova, Italy, in this photo released February 6, 2007. Archaeologists in northern Italy believe the couple was buried 5,000-6,000 years ago, their arms still wrapped around each other in a hug that has lasted millennia.



I also find it very interesting that in death it seems that most people lie in the fetal position, almost the same way we are born.

This picture elicits many emotions ... from sad to romantic, sweet, beautiful and loving. It shows that love in life and death is beautiful and eternal.

Picture source Washington Times

Green Beret Killed in Iraq Throws 100K Vegas Party for Friends

"I died doing something I believed in, and have no regrets,

except that I couldn't do more"

Captian Jeffrey Toczylowski

This is a wonderful story (found here)


Captain Jeffrey Toczylowski, 30 years old. RIPHis friends have set up a tribute website. Check out “Party Toz,” at least.

LAS VEGAS — Shortly after Jeffrey "Toz" Toczylowski's last mission in Iraq a year ago this month, friends received a message. "If you are getting this e-mail, it means that I have passed away," the missive said. "No, it's not a sick Toz joke, but a letter I wanted to write in case this happened." The Army Special Forces captain, 30, said he would like family and friends to attend his burial at Arlington National Cemetery, "but understand if you can't make it."

The message, distributed by a fellow Green Beret after Toczylowski's family had been notified of his death, added: "There will also be a party in Vegas with a 100k to help pay for travel, room and a party."

Last Saturday, Toczylowski's mother, Peggy, hustled about Las Vegas' Palms Hotel and Casino, making final arrangements for a bash that drew family and childhood friends from her son's hometown in Upper Moreland, Pa., near Philadelphia, men and women from his days at Texas A&M University, and comrades in arms who had bonded with "Toz" on missions they could not discuss with civilians.

By 7 p.m., the last of 120 or so guests were offering hotel bouncers the password and trooping into the Palm's 10,000-square-foot Hardwood entertainment suite.Two women in skimpy outfits poured liquor from the fully stocked bar. Disc jockeys blasted rock and rap from a loft decked out with a pool table, a wide-screen video-game console and a circular loveseat with remote controls that rotated it out of view.

At 9 p.m., six Green Berets swarmed an unsuspecting colleague on the suite's attached basketball court. A few feet from where one chef carved rare prime rib and a sushi chef sliced young yellowtail and spicy tuna rolls, the men wrestled their thrashing comrade onto an 8-foot stepladder, secured him from chin to shoes with a few hundred feet of duct tape, covered him with whipped cream and strategically placed cherries, spray-painted his hair red, poured whiskey down his throat and then hoisted the ladder into a vertical position and stuck a microphone to his face.

"The first time this happened we were in Bosnia," said detachment leader Ryan Armstrong, 31, spitting booze and dessert toppings. "Jeff was a sniper-team leader. I was the assault-team leader. ... That time they left me taped to a dolly for a couple of hours. ... Toz was the one who cut me loose."

A limbo contest erupted. With help from soldiers from the Special Forces base near Stuttgart, Germany, a full-size cutout of Toczylowski in red flight suit appeared to hold the pole while a long line of partygoers wobbled underneath. Around midnight, the Toz cutout — wearing a Russian fur cap with goofy earflaps — joined in the dance contest, wriggling between couples to show off moves of dubious propriety. Inspired by this boldness, several former girlfriends danced suggestively with the photo.

Bittersweet night

At 3 a.m., music still thudded, guests were hurling basketballs at the hoop (the three Murphy beds in the court's walls had yet to be unfolded) and the Toz cutout hovered over the suite's glass-enclosed Jacuzzi, as if gawking at the whooping, squealing stew of young women and soldiers.

Toz's mother had placed photos of the missing host — hoisting a big fish, grinning beside a waterfall, posing with his motorcycle — near the gurgling chocolate fountain, around the pasta station and throughout the opulent bedrooms and baths.

Likewise, although most of the wall-mounted flat-screen TVs aired football games, the main room's largest screen featured home videos Toz's sister Pam, 34, had assembled. Early in the evening, the footage was of Toczylowski as a child, frolicking in the snow, helping his father build a backyard swimming pool, playing football and soccer. As the night wore on, the young man went skydiving across the screen, ran with the bulls in Spain and helped lock a friend in an outhouse at a car race.

Peggy, 55, had wanted all the images to be joyful. But well past midnight, someone put in a more current DVD. Tracer bullets streaked across the Iraq sky. Buildings exploded in fireballs. And there was Toz, crammed into a helicopter with Special Forces comrades. A soldier who had served on Toczylowski's 12-man A-team was making seductive overtures to an A&M alum when the screen filled with footage of his teammate's memorial service at a dusty base in Iraq. Taps sounded. The Green Beret turned away, weeping. Off and on, Peggy Toczylowski got teary, too.

A manager at a Pennsylvania design studio, she was in her office on Nov. 4, 2005, when three uniformed soldiers came to inform her that her son had been killed on a combat mission in Iraq's Anbar province. A few weeks after her son's Nov. 14 burial at Arlington, a team of Special Forces soldiers arrived at her home and gave an hourlong PowerPoint presentation on the details.

"No regrets"

On Nov. 3, a string of Blackhawk helicopters had been roaring across the desert on a nighttime counterinsurgency raid, carrying Special Forces soldiers to hunt high-value targets who had been making improvised explosive devices. Flying over the desert at night is disorienting. Toz apparently believed the helicopter had touched down. He stepped out. It was more than 100 feet off the ground and thundering ahead at 100 mph.

His mother was impressed with the professionalism of the Army's presentation and took comfort in learning that the mission had been a success. Her son's e-mail precluded any resentment. "Don't ever think that you are defending me by slamming the Global War on Terrorism or the U.S. goals in that war," Jeffrey Toczylowski wrote. "As far as I am concerned, we can send guys like me to go after them or we can wait for them to come back to us again. I died doing something I believed in and have no regrets except that I couldn't do more."
Toczylowski had gone through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Pennsylvania's Valley Forge Military College and then turned his Texas A&M criminal-justice degree into an assignment as platoon leader with the military police. He had completed the Special Forces training course in 2003.

After a sergeant in his company died of a heart attack, Toczylowski got serious about his mortality, fellow soldiers said. He earmarked money from his savings and insurance policies to assist friends and help cousins with college tuition and to fund a scholarship at Valley Forge, his mother said.

Honoring his wishes


The party was the challenge for the family. But Peggy and Pam say Toczylowski was wise, and they're convinced he knew that assigning them planning duties would keep their minds off losing a son and brother. By the time a waiter pushed through the door of the suite with a breakfast cart full of juices and pastries, Pam Toczylowski ventured to guess that the party probably would come in just under $100,000, including airfare and rooms for her brother's teammates and a few friends who otherwise might not have been able to attend. She said it was worth it.
"Jeff was the kind of person who lived every day as if it would be his last," Pam said. And he would want them to make his farewell bash "a party that when people leave, they will talk about it forever."

(Sources: Seattle Times, Tribute Website and PS Board)