Uncle Perry

Last week, our family lost a very dear person--my uncle Perry.  Being so far away, it is hard to believe that he can be gone.  With his death being so close to Thanksgiving, it made me think about how thankful I was to have him in my life.

This is Uncle Perry at my wedding.  He and my Aunt Pat have been at every major event of my life to support me, and most of the not so important piano recitals and and choir concerts, too.  I remember a time when the three of us were driving from Twin Falls to Boise and I mentioned how they must be so happy for their grandchildren because they had to wait awhile before they got these great kids:

He told me that he had always thought of me as one of his grandchildren.  I have thought about that many times because it meant so much to me.  It is hard to put into words what someone can mean to you.  Uncle Perry wasn't the kind of person who had to be in the limelight, but it was his presence--calm, kind, always ready to laugh that made you feel like there was something safe and right with the world.  It is a tremendous thing that I can say that in a lifetime of knowing him I never heard him say one bad thing about another person.

It's really hard to say how many times I barged into Pat and Perry's house without knocking because I was excited about something, or had a bad day at school, or was just bored.  I am so thankful that I had someone who didn't mind me barging in and would always be there in his faithful chair to listen and laugh with me.  I'm really grateful for our camping trips and the time we spent sitting around the fire.  I learned so much from my uncle's kindness.  I loved him a lot.

Sometimes words just fail a person.  I really wanted to let Aunt Pat, and Mike, Theresa, Jim, Susan and Paul know how my heart is with them, and how very much I love them.  I was so honored and blessed to have Uncle Perry in my life, and I will dearly miss him.