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Jan. 17th, 2008 08:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liptonrm_backupTomorrow is my Great Uncle Rod's memorial service. A week ago Monday my uncle (my dad's brother) went to his house to check on him and found him dead on his floor. It was and wasn't a shock. At Christmas he was in the hospital and he wasn't looking very good but mentally he was 100% there. I kind of expected him to hang on for another couple of years.
He was a good man. He served in the Marines in World War II and after war he graduated from U-Michigan Law and went on to become a very successful lawyer. He never had any children of his own but he was always ready and willing to help any of his nieces or nephews. When he was last in the hospital they told him that if he left them an inheritance the hospital would name its Cardiovascular Wing after him. He declined because he wanted to be able to take care of his family.
I wasn't personally very close to him. I'm not very close to any of my extended family, but the world is a lesser place now that he's gone.
The only thing I regret is that we didn't urge him earlier to write about his life. Last Saturday my dad and I were going through old photos and keepsakes that he recovered from my uncle's house and there were so many things that we didn't know anything about. One of the mysterious photos showed him sitting in a trench coat, holding a .38 pistol that looked remarkably like a certain Colt. My brain started flipping out over the fact that my uncle was a hunter but thankfully I was able to keep all of that on the inside.
So let's raise a toast to my Uncle Rod. You lived a good life, sir, and you will be missed.
He was a good man. He served in the Marines in World War II and after war he graduated from U-Michigan Law and went on to become a very successful lawyer. He never had any children of his own but he was always ready and willing to help any of his nieces or nephews. When he was last in the hospital they told him that if he left them an inheritance the hospital would name its Cardiovascular Wing after him. He declined because he wanted to be able to take care of his family.
I wasn't personally very close to him. I'm not very close to any of my extended family, but the world is a lesser place now that he's gone.
The only thing I regret is that we didn't urge him earlier to write about his life. Last Saturday my dad and I were going through old photos and keepsakes that he recovered from my uncle's house and there were so many things that we didn't know anything about. One of the mysterious photos showed him sitting in a trench coat, holding a .38 pistol that looked remarkably like a certain Colt. My brain started flipping out over the fact that my uncle was a hunter but thankfully I was able to keep all of that on the inside.
So let's raise a toast to my Uncle Rod. You lived a good life, sir, and you will be missed.
