Sam's funeral

My friend Sam was buried today.
Sam was a good man. He had his demons, as we all do, but for the last decade or so, he seemed to have conquered them.
I first met Sam shortly after we came to Mount Pleasant. He was a short, wiry man in his 50s. He had a lot of energy, a lot of focus.
His main focus was on taking care of his elderly mother. His mom, whom I've never met, apparently was quite demanding; I suspect she has Alzheimer's. He and his mother had been on my prayer list for about three years. He struggled.
I hadn't seen Sam for a while; then I saw his obituary in the paper. He was 61 years old.
Apparently, it's not unusual for an Alzheimer's caregiver to die before the Alzheimer's patient.
His casket was draped in the flag. His toughest battle was not with the enemy without, but the enemy within. His children and friends were there, and our prayers were, and are, with him.