essentialsaltes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
essentialsaltes) wrote2022-04-26 12:58 pm
essentialsaltes) wrote2022-04-26 12:58 pm
Remembering Uncle Don
I recently traveled by plane for the first time in 2 years. Unfortunately the occasion was not an altogether happy one. I attended the memorial in San Jose for my uncle Don. I'm glad cousin Jim included a bit of roasting in his own touching comments about his dad, so I don't feel too mean in making my own comments.
In my childhood, 3 of the Murphy sisters all lived in Sunnyvale/San Jose, so a bunch of us cousins (their kids) saw a lot of each other. We weren't quite raised in common, but there were lots of evenings with the aunts and uncles playing euchre, while the cousins all played together at one house or another. Or trips to the local lakes for waterskiing. Birthday parties and holidays. Uncle Don was a big part of all that. Even later when my family had moved away, many summers through high school included me staying with them for a week or two. Getting into trouble with Jim and Tom, of course, but also time with Aunt Fran and Uncle Don.
It's probably not literally true, but sometimes I think that I learned thriftiness from Don. Thrift is a bit of a left-handed virtue; I may have heard it said that Don could pinch a penny until it squealed in pain. And yet.
And yet what I remember most about Don was his generosity. He was generous in spirit. Generous with a helping hand. Generous with a listening ear. Generous with a good joke. Or a bad one (more likely). Generous with hospitality (that I availed myself of many a time). Generous with family. Generous with friends and strangers alike.
He was just a great fun guy and he'll be missed. I hope he serves as inspiration to those who knew him to emulate his giving spirit. I'm sure the world would be a better place for it.
--
The celebration went really well. My only regret is I didn't take more pictures, but it was great to reconnect with Jim and Tom and their families, and Aunt Fran, of course, and cousin Patty. To be amazed at how Jim's and Tom's kids have grown. And even hang out with some of Jim's and Tom's friends, some of whom I've known (a bit) since back in those high school summers.
In my childhood, 3 of the Murphy sisters all lived in Sunnyvale/San Jose, so a bunch of us cousins (their kids) saw a lot of each other. We weren't quite raised in common, but there were lots of evenings with the aunts and uncles playing euchre, while the cousins all played together at one house or another. Or trips to the local lakes for waterskiing. Birthday parties and holidays. Uncle Don was a big part of all that. Even later when my family had moved away, many summers through high school included me staying with them for a week or two. Getting into trouble with Jim and Tom, of course, but also time with Aunt Fran and Uncle Don.
It's probably not literally true, but sometimes I think that I learned thriftiness from Don. Thrift is a bit of a left-handed virtue; I may have heard it said that Don could pinch a penny until it squealed in pain. And yet.
And yet what I remember most about Don was his generosity. He was generous in spirit. Generous with a helping hand. Generous with a listening ear. Generous with a good joke. Or a bad one (more likely). Generous with hospitality (that I availed myself of many a time). Generous with family. Generous with friends and strangers alike.
He was just a great fun guy and he'll be missed. I hope he serves as inspiration to those who knew him to emulate his giving spirit. I'm sure the world would be a better place for it.
--
The celebration went really well. My only regret is I didn't take more pictures, but it was great to reconnect with Jim and Tom and their families, and Aunt Fran, of course, and cousin Patty. To be amazed at how Jim's and Tom's kids have grown. And even hang out with some of Jim's and Tom's friends, some of whom I've known (a bit) since back in those high school summers.