Uncle Don

My Uncle Don is at Home. I don't know much detail yet, but it seems that the doctors put him on morphine sometime during the night, and he passed peacefully today.

These two pictures are from our last visit to his house in Lucketts, VA. It was just a few months ago, on a very windy afternoon in April.

Actually, it was the kids' only visit there. I'm so glad they got to go once, at least.

These are from Fourth of July 2009, I think. Uncle Don with Lena...

...and churning ice cream that same day, with Grandpop, who preceded Don to Heaven by three months and a day.

And one of my very favorite pictures ever--Uncle Don holding Meg, Mother's Day 2006.

This picture captures so many things that I cherish about Don. The weather-beaten skin of a true outdoorsman. The work-worn hands. The ever-present flannel shirts and cap. And the amazing, tender love for children in a man who never had any of his own.

Many tears today, with many more to come, probably. I keep thinking how blessed I am to be part of a family where a great uncle was more than an acquaintance, where his death is truly, as my mom put it, "a terrible loss." Please pray for my Gran, Sharon, if you would be so kind. Despite the assurance that they are both with Christ, the loss of husband and then brother in one summer is pretty stunning. Please ask God to make His nearness very real to her.

Thanks for reading.