Uncle David

Saturday morning, my dad called my cell phone and told me 'I have some bad news.' We just went through a cancer scare with him a few weeks ago, so my stomach immediately dropped thinking he was going to tell me he did have cancer. When he said 'It isn't about me', my next thought was something had happened to his brother who has had too many medical issues to list in the last 10 years. He told me that my mom's brother, David, had died of a heart attack. He was 69 years old.

My Uncle David was the sibling my mom has always been closest to. So many of her childhood stories involve him tormenting her in some way and her constantly trying to tag along with him. In our family, even though he wasn't the oldest, he was kind of the boss of the siblings. He was kind, he was funny {he was such the joke-teller and practical joker}, he demonstrated the faith he was so proud of, he was a great father, an amazing grandfather, a fun uncle. He was a great man. My heart hurts mostly for his kids and grandkids and my mom who has lost her best friend from her whole life. It makes me realize that my parents are getting older. I found out that he is the 3rd generation male to have a heart attack {my grandfather had one when I was a baby but survived, but I didn't know his dad died of a heart attack at 63}, and that makes me scared.

But my family has always been strong and rallied in times of sadness. My grandparents were amazing people who raised 7 kickass kids. I feel blessed to be a part of this family and have known and loved this amazing man.

He was the family picture taker - he would always irritate everyone making us stop for pictures, ha, and he'd always send out a Shutterfly album. Every Thanksgiving he made us go around a circle and say what we were thankful for. He loved to drink beer, play 42, and listen to polka music. He was always going to garage sales and would keep a running list of all the things we had him looking for. He could fix anything. He was awesome and will be missed.

We will never be the same as we were before this loss but are ever so much better for having had something so great to lose. -unknown