[oldE]

Damn. As said above, visit as often as you can. When you get to the point where he looks at your ugly mug and says,"You know you don't get to inherit!", that might be sufficient.
Tell him there's a whole bunch of guys who are thinking about him and who would like to visit, but all we have is you as proxy.
My next door neighbor is being treated for cancer. He might have got tired of my visits, but he never let on. There's not much else you can do.

Best
Les