My Dad's Last Days

The Last Days of Eugene C. “Bud” Moser

By Mitch Moser

Dad: 96, Doug: 74, Terri: 71, and Mitch: 69

May/June 2026

I am journaling this as a historic record of the last days of my dad, Bud Moser. I hope this will be passed down through the family for many generations, and that they might see the love and beauty of Dad’s last days and passing.

My dad is 96. He has had congestive heart failure the last five years or so. Ejection fraction is a measure of the percentage of blood pumped out of the heart with each contraction. A healthy heart would be 70-80. My dad’s measurement is 26. The lack of blood flow affects the entire body, especially the lungs and kidneys. This condition has been causing kidney issues for the last several years.

On Wednesday, May 27, Kim and I stopped by Dad’s to take him and his wife, Pat, out to eat. Dad was dizzy and we thought he was going to vomit. Pat suggested we take him to the hospital. He agreed right away, which isn’t like Dad to do. He wasn’t a person to run to the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital, Dad was cold and shaking very badly. He was still dizzy also.

They got him checked in and found that he had MRSA. This is a very serious infection when it enters the blood, and Dad’s MRSA had. Within the next day or two, they discovered that Dad had pneumonia from the MRSA. The doctor said the infection should go away in about 6 days with strong antibiotics. The issue was that, since his kidneys were only working at about 30%, the antibiotics stressed them, leaving them very little cushion.

( I had grown up in a house where we believed there was a God, but that was about it. We didn’t go to church or really acknowledge Him. At age 17, I made a decision to follow Christ. Over the years, this changed me, and at age 31, I left the family farm and became a pastor. I had spoken with Dad over the years about Christ, but he wasn’t interested. Other family members tried to share, but Dad wasn’t interested. He did start going to church some in the last few years, but none of us kids thought he was trusting Christ with his soul for salvation from his sins.

About two years ago, Terri told me Doug had asked about Dad’s salvation. I told her we had been praying for years for Dad to trust Christ. I told her that God can do anything, but unless Dad is on his back in the hospital, I didn’t realistically think I could talk with him about it. Last winter we retired, and while we like Arizona, we purposely chose to be within 10 minutes of where Dad was in Mesa, where he was wintering, just so I might have a chance to talk with him about Christ, probably in a hospital.)

On Friday, May 29, I asked Kim and Dad’s Pat (My brother Doug’s wife is also named Pat) if I could talk with Dad alone. They left the room, and I told Dad I wanted to talk to him about the most important thing in his life. I reminded him that I led his parents to Christ when they were in their 90’s, and how Christ had changed them. I told him how, when grandpa died, we were assured he was in heaven. I asked him if he would like to see his parents, my mom, Helen, and my sister, Sue, again. I explained why I

trusted Christ and that I wanted to share it with him. He nodded his head and said, “OK.” I told Dad about the love Christ had for him and quoted verses like 1 John 5:13 that says, “I write these things to you, who believe in the name of Jesus Christ, so that you may know you will have eternal life. ” I explained that all of us are sinners and we need the forgiveness of Christ. I told Dad that when I accepted Christ, I didn’t know how to pray for salvation, and that I had asked the pastor to pray and that I would repeat after him. I told him I had led his parents to Christ, and they repeated after me to receive Christ. I asked Dad if he wanted to do this. He said, “Yes.

”I prayed a simple prayer, and he repeated after me.

I said, “God, I know I am a sinner and have fallen short of your glory.

There is nothing I can do to make up for this,

but I believe Jesus Christ lived a sinless life,

died on the cross for my sins,

was buried, and then rose again on the third day

to conquer the grave and my sin.

I ask you, God, to come into my heart and make me new. Amen.

Dad readily prayed with me, and what happened afterward shocked us. My dad became a different person than we had ever seen.

___

I’d like to interject here. Some years, I’ve counseled 400 to 500 sessions per year. What I’m about to say is my personal opinion. I’ve seen that for the most part, the Mosers on my dad’s side can have a sort of aggression. I’ve seen it back before my dad’s generation, and I’ve seen it in the generations after my dad. They can be controlling and fail to see others needs. I’ve named it the “Moser Meanness”. In fact, I have this. Through Christ, I’ve battled this, and with His help, I think I’ve come a long, long way to overcome it. I’ve mentioned it to my children so they're aware of it. I

mentioned the “Moser Meanness” to one of my children, and they said,

"Dad, I have it too. Would you pray for me?”

___

Back to Dad… From that time on, I didn’t hear him swear or talk negatively about anyone. He wasn’t at all controlling, and he truly saw others' needs and encouraged everyone, especially the hospital staff. Dad would tell them, “If someone were to ask me if I have any complaints about the staff, I would say zero. (Then he would hold up his hand while making a zero with his thumb and forefinger.) He would say that he knew he wasn’t in good shape, but he was in the best place with the best people, and he was at peace. In his last week, we probably heard Dad tell the staff this at least 30 times. It was as though my dad had become the most beautiful person in the world. His transformation was amazing. For us to see Christ residing in my dad after 45 years of praying for him was nothing short of amazing!

One day in the hallway, one of the doctors even commented on Dad’s kindness and caring attitude. My brother, Doug, has a great sense of humor. While smiling, he told the doctor, “It hasn’t always been this way.” He was so right!

___

Each of us has needs, and one I’ve never had filled by my dad was affirmation that he approved of me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had others tell me how dad brags about me, but he just didn’t tell me himself. In the hospital, a few days after my dad accepted Christ, my dad told me,

“Mitch, you have been an inspiration to me.

You have been an inspiration to our family,

And you are an inspiration to everyone you meet.”

I was overwhelmed when my dad finally told me he saw value in me. That night, Kim said, You finally have your Dad’s validation.” The way I’m wired, it meant the world to me to know that my dad saw value in me. I’ll never forget it.

___

The next week was a balancing act with meds trying to kill the infection without damaging the kidneys. After about a week, they decided the infection was probably around his pacemaker/defibrillator, but they couldn’t remove it because Dad was too weak. Terri is a retired RN and worked as a hospice nurse. I watched as she talked with Dad about his condition. Dad listened and understood, but I don’t think he knew what to do. Terri told him that he wasn’t going to get better, and one of the options was hospice. (The doctor had told us that Dad was so weak that if they withdrew the antibiotics, Dad would only last half a day to a few days because the infection was so strong.) With a peaceful heart, Dad told Terri, “I want you three kids to decide." I heard him say it. I could see that God had removed the need to control things. It was

beautiful to see him say this. He literally trusted us kids with his life. The three of us kids and Dad’s wife, Pat, all agreed on the next step. With Dad’s heart so weak and the infection not giving up, it was time to let him go. It was the kindest thing we could do for him. We knew he didn’t want to linger in a nursing home with no quality of life… and now we knew he was ready to go to Heaven and see Mom and our sister, Sue, who had died of cancer in 1998 at age 47, and his mom and dad.

On Sunday, June 7, at 2 PM, we put Dad into hospice. He wanted to stay in the hospital if he could. Within an hour, dad had went downhill and was sleeping. We didn’t know if he would awake or if it was a coma. Sunday late afternoon, he woke up and was very lucid. His speech was a bit slurred. All during his hospital stay, Dad was very aware and alert, and he said he had no pain.

Sunday night, I decided to stay the night in the hospital with Dad. Our daughter, Hannah, offered to come and stay with us. At first, I told her she didn’t need to, but then I realized she wanted to. About 1:30 AM, Dad woke up and was very lucid. Hannah and I recorded 42 minutes of video of him talking about what was important to him.

Monday, June 8

Monday morning, Dad woke up before 5 when a nurse came in. Hannah wrote down what Dad said to the nurse.

“Grandpa Helen is quite the changed man. He can’t stop talking about Jesus and all He’s done for him. When his nurse came in this morning, I wrote down a few of the things he said to her. This was shortly before he was baptized.

I’m trying to figure out how I’m going out of this world so peacefully. I’ve got everything to be grateful for. It’s all because of Jesus…. It can’t be much better than this. I’m not afraid to die, but I don’t want to leave you. I’ve got everything I need. … I didn’t know it’d be so peaceful.”

-Grandpa Helen 6/8/26

We asked Dad if he wanted to be baptized, and he said, “Yes.” Under the circumstances, I wet a washcloth and Hannah and I baptized my dad in the hospital bed. On Monday, Dad had a good day and lots of visitors. It wore him out, but he loved it. Dad was asking me or others to pray for him multiple times per day. Sunday, I prayed for him 5 times. When we were praying, and we mentioned Jesus or heaven, he would say, “Amen,” and raise a hand. After Monday, we decided to limit visitors to immediate family.

Tuesday, June 9

Hannah, my wife, Kim, and I stayed with Dad on Monday night into Tuesday morning. They moved us from the second to the fourth (hospice) floor about 8:30 Monday night. It was nice that they moved him in his bed. He slept through the transition. He opened his eyes in the elevator, and I told him we were going to the fourth floor. I only slept 10 minutes that night. Dad kept pulling at his oxygen mask. In the early evening, it happened every 15 or 20 minutes. By about 3:30 AM, it was happening every minute. I could tell his breathing was more labored through the night, and especially so when he pulled the oxygen mask off. About 3:30 AM, he turned his head and looked at me in the chair next to him. With a peaceful, calm face, he raised his left arm and pointed his left index finger to the sky. Then he nodded to me. I did the same gesture and nodded back to him. I think he knew he was going into Jesus’ arms. We called the nurse, and she gave him medicine so he wouldn't pull off his mask. After 15 minutes, it didn’t help, and she asked if I wanted her to give him morphine. I asked what it would do. She said it would calm him. I agreed, and she did so.

Once, Dad almost removed the oxygen mask from his head. Hannah said she wondered if he was taking off the mask so he could go be with Jesus. It caused me to ponder this sweet thought. I was so glad she was there. Hannah was holding his left hand, I was holding his right, and Kim was holding his foot through the covers. After a few minutes, Hannah said,“Dad, I think his breathing is stopping”. He took a breath, and I counted 20 seconds. We called the nurse. He took the second breath, and I counted thirty seconds. He then took his last breath. We were holding his hands

and foot and I was stroking the top of his head, and we were all telling him how much we loved him.

Dad went in peace. He didn’t convulse or have a death rattle. He just went in peace. I could feel his hand getting cold.

I started crying, and as the nurse was checking his chest for a pulse, I asked if he had passed. She said the heartbeat was very faint. I asked if I should call loved ones, and she said yes. I called Terri, Doug, and Dad’s wife, Pat. I asked Pat if she wanted Kim to pick her up, and she said no. She called back a few minutes later and said she was shaking and wanted us to pick her up, so Kim went to get her.

Terri and Mike got there first. Hannah stood up, and Terri sat in the chair, held Dad’s hand, and cried… tears of sadness that Dad was gone and tears of joy that he was with Jesus and didn’t suffer. Doug and Pat came next, and after a while, Doug said something like, ‘This might sound strange, but this is actually a celebration’. We all knew he was right. Dad was with Jesus after 45 years of us praying for him and he didn’t suffer. We all knew his passing was inevitable, and we didn’t want to see our dad

suffer. Kim came with Dad’s Pat. Dad passed at 4:26 AM. The nurse came into the room and said Doug would need to come to the nurse’s station to sign papers. With a wry smile, Doug said, “I’m in the middle of a story here.” We all laughed. I love Doug’s sense of humor. About an hour after Dad’s passing, we all left. I held his hand for an hour after he passed.

Dad lasted one and a half days after he was put in hospice. At the time of this writing, it has been 2 days since his passing, and we are still basking in God’s grace and mercy for our dad… and for us. We are very humble and thankful for life beyond the grave. Personally, I’m just overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness and goodness to us. If you haven’t yet put your trust in Jesus Christ, I would pray that you would do so now, and after you pray, tell a strong Christian so they can pray for you and help you in your new walk. Also, get plugged in to a Bible-believing Christian church. Hebrews 10:25

tells us to do this. They will help you in your new way of life.

I could wish you joy and peace

To last your whole life long,

Or I could wish you sunshine,

Or a cheerful little song,

Or wish you all the happiness

That this life could bring,

But I wish you Jesus,

More than anything…

Because when I wish you Jesus,

I’ve wished you everything.