Uncle Don

 


Uncle Don at the Tuesday lunch on his 90th birthday

Back in April, I wrote about the Tuesday lunches and how my Uncle Don loved going with me.  I’m sorry to say, we lost Uncle Don early last Sunday morning.

His daughter Clair called me one morning and asked if I could come down, that she thought he’d had a stroke. She called the ambulance and got him to the hospital.  He had definitely had a mild stroke.  They kept him in the hospital and while there he had three more strokes. Last Saturday they sent him home with hospice as they had done all they could do for him. He died that night. 

My sister and I tried to help Clair with the funeral arrangements and all the hundreds of little things involved with planning a funeral. In the middle of the plans, she said she wasn’t sure who to ask to give a eulogy.  She looked at me and said, “You gave your Dad’s eulogy and it was really good.  Would you mind doing one for my dad?”  What could I say?

I don’t mind speaking in public.  It doesn’t bother me. My biggest problem was not what to say, but what to leave out!  There were so many stories I could have told!  I narrowed it down to two.  One about a prank my father and his twin brother played on Don when he was dating Aunt Helen and another about setting  his suit coat on fire at my Aunt Frances’s wedding!  And it was a borrowed suit!  

After the funeral, I felt a little guilty.  I felt like I was wrong for enjoying myself.  But I was with family. The people I love.  We were there to support one another. We were there to mourn, yes, but we were also there to celebrate a life well lived. I don’t think Don would mind.  Hell, he’d have been the life of the party! 

R.I.P. Unk.  I’ll miss you.  

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