Harry is married to my aunt (my father's sister). Uncle Harry has been around, obviously, all of my life. He is a generous man, a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, uncle, neighbor, friend--you name it! His life has impacted so many people! Uncle Harry is in the last stages of a rare form of cancer, and this blog is my tribute to him as he is graciously facing his last days here on earth before he goes to meet his Father in Heaven and be reunited with a son who died who also passed on (from cancer) at a very young age many years ago. I have many fond (and funny) memories of family time with Uncle Harry, Aunt Micki, and my cousins.
Uncle Harry has been at every momentous event in my life, and he always seemed a larger-than-life presence in the room. My oldest son was the first of his generation born into my own dad's family. Uncle Harry and Aunt Micki came to visit him, and you would have thought Taylor was his own grandson from the look on his and my aunt's faces as they held him. Harry loved family, and his family loved him!
One of my favorite memories of Uncle Harry actually was when I was an adult, with children of my own. I had mentioned that my grandmother told me I could make bouncing "snowballs" out of mothballs in a fishbowl of water by adding glycerin to the water. I had a snowman candle, the fishbowl, the mothballs, and the water but could find no glycerin. I told him I had searched high and low for the glycerin, but couldn't find it anywhere. The next time I saw my Uncle Harry, he handed me a sack. Inside was the glycerin! I don't know exactly where he found it, but my small children were enchanted when the "snowballs" began moving up and down in the water, making it appear as if snow was falling around the snowman! This is just one example of his thoughtfulness; I know he made it a part of his lifestyle to perform thoughtful tasks for others.
Uncle Harry met my aunt when he was serving in the Strategic Air Command in the Air Force in the 1950's. It is a romantic story to my way of thinking--he was doing a buddy a favor. His buddy wanted to visit his girlfriend during their weekend pass but needed someone to help him drive. My aunt was recruited to visit with Harry while the buddy and his girlfriend visited. I think they stayed up all night chatting in an old-fashioned, all-night diner! Pretty soon, Harry was making those trips without encouragement, then there was correspondence, and the romance blossomed! They raised four children and have lived loving, exemplary, honorable lives together for 57 years!
I got a chance to visit with Uncle Harry a few weeks ago in their home outside of Austin. Since Uncle Harry is a veteran, he was anxious to show me the Veterans' Memorial he helped create inside their community. It is a tribute to veterans from many wars--including even a Civil War veteran who was an ancestor of a current resident veteran! Uncle Harry was tremendously proud, and rightly so, of his family's military and patriotic heritage!
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This is my Uncle Harry standing in front of the memorial. The bricks are engraved with the names of veterans.
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| More of my family in the memorial |
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These three bricks represent (right to left) my Uncle Harry's father (Navy),
my Uncle Harry (Air Force), and my cousin, Harry Vance (U.S. Marine Corp.)
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The memorial is in this idyllic setting, planted with native Texas plants.
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This memorial pays tribute to those from Williamson County who gave their
lives. They are listed according to the war/conflict in which they died. |
In closing, I would just like to say that Uncle Harry has a wife, two sons, a daughter, a grand-daughter, and two grandsons, plus sisters-in-law, a brother-in-law, nieces, nephews, many other relatives, and friends who would all say that Harry is leaving a legacy of a life well-lived, with many good memories, and lots of love from those who are left behind. He will be greatly missed by all who know him. I love you, Uncle Harry!
