Uncle Joe
(Post Transfered from old Blog)
This weekend was a rough one for me. I closed on the house last week and was very interested in pouring money into it all weekend. Had a couple of scheduled appointments with a roofer, an electrician and a heating specialist.
Since the weekend was going to be so hectic I turned my phone off on Friday night so I could get some sleep. When I woke up Early Saturday morning I checked my voicemail. There was one message from my father.
I called my dad back and found out my uncle Joe had died. My dad and stepmother were making plans to fly in and make it to the funeral.
I ended up talking them into flying to my place and we would drive up together. Uncle Joe lived about 4 and a half hours from me so it was fun to have company on the drive up. Especially since I do not get to spend to much time with my father.
I grew up visiting Uncle Joe quite often since he owned a duplex and rented the other half to my grandmother before she died in 2001. I remember since I was the youngest of grandmothers youngest son all my cousins were a lot older than me and I was closer in age to their kids than them. Uncle Joe realized this and also realized that grandma’s house could get boring for a kid under the age of 10. He lived in an area that had a lot of Amish people o he would come get me and take me for rides though “Amish” country and give me history leasons. It was never boring when Uncle Joe was around.
Yesterday I had to say goodbye to my uncle and the feeling of regret for the times I was to busy to visit him overwhelmed me. I left for the military 14 years ago. In that time I went to visit him once, saw him at my grandmothers funeral and he drove to my wedding. Definatley not enough time to extract some more of his knowledge before Cancer won the war on Friday night.
After the funeral yesterday we all went to the Moose Lodge to eat and drink in the place Joe loved. I got to once again remember the amount of time that has passed since I left for the military. Joe oldest granddaughter is now a high school teacher and just got married last month. Seeing the picture of Joe dancing with his little granddaughter at her wedding brought tears to everyones eyes. The man that was invinsible to me and larger than life itself looked so tired and beaten but you could see the happiness in his smile as he held his baby girl.
Uncle Joe, you will be missed and the lives you have touched in the 72 years on earth are countless and priceless. Your children and grandchildren have so many memories of you that we could not stop talking about them. We love you and miss you.
