And since we are on the subject, it is the 21st anniversary of Ricky Nelson's death on Sunday.  He died the same day, I gave birth to Kaisha, who will be 21 on Sunday...

Obituary For Ricky Nelson

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Obituary: Popular teen idol in the late 1950s and early 1960s who had great success in Music, Movies and Television. Music hits include Poor Little Fool, Lonesome Town, Travelin' Man, Hello Mary Lou and Garden Party. He wrote Garden Party because he was booed at The Rock Revival at Madison Square Garden in 1971. He played Ricky on the TV series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He died in a plane crash in De Kalb, Texas, USA.   

Jeremy Riggs wrote:

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lol,

She legally can't drink when the party starts, but can before it ends!

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No she can drink from the minute she wakes up on Dec 31st, that is when her birthday is.  So she is legal all day Dec. 31st from that day forward....

And you think I have gray hair now, I'm going to be worried more than ever now about her being out!

Good Thread Darlene, can I slip this link in here?

http://www.einsiders.com/features/columns/jan06obituaries.php

This gives some of the not so famous too.

I was just informed that my Uncle Ron passed away last night. He had been in declining health the last few years, and basically the doctor said you can stay in the hospital to die, or go home to die.  We knew this was coming, its not a shock, but still sad when it finally happens.

I am sort of torn. I wanted to go see him Christmas Day, as he and his family live on the way out to my folks house. But I wanted to go only if my folks would go with me, I didn't want to "crash" the immediate family time  by myself or bring it any further down with my goodbye. The folks sorta skirted around the issue and we did not end up going, tho my dad went the following day to visit, and gave Ron my message. 

I needed to thank Ron for a little part time job I had when I was unemployed. Actually it worked out well, he needed reliable help & I needed to be paid under the radar. Home remodeling and Ron had the contract for scrapping and repairing pallets for a grocery warehouse.

It was messy work at times, but it was fun. And each work day started with a sitdown cup of coffee. No worries. That's the luxury part of being your own boss, your own man.

When I was (well when we all were) younger, my dad, ron, and I would play 3-man racket ball and hand ball at The Eagles club. That's a fun memory too. I still love playing racket ball to this day and that is due to getting that from Ron and my Dad.

Ron also bought me my first "good" baseball glove too. And showed me how to snowmobile.

Ron was a man of few words, would rather guide by example. I admired that. He had good loyal work crews because people liked and respected him, as he did them.

He worked for as long as he could. Up until a couple of years ago.

And probably what I admire most, is that I never heard the man ever complain about anything once. Bum circulation & legs, not a peep. They had to take his legs & replace them with fake ones. We'd joke that these made him 2 inches taller &  that the skin color was wrong.  I think he is a guy who would never put up with much whining, so in that sense he showed that by not whining about anything himself. It was my dad who said "Notice that about Ron"....and he was absolutely right.

I was told that earlier in the week, Ron was conscious and in pretty good spirits. I think he just got tired of fighting, and found peace in the fact he didn't have to fight anymore. He wanted a greasy hamburger, got it. Then he wanted a bucket of chicken the next day, got that too. The part of me that says "well hell, I should have bought over a 6 pack then..." stirs up a bit. But I know I woulda been stopped (rightfully so) at the door by the nurse and my Shortie Aunt. That would have been cruel to Ron...show him I had cold beer, but he couldn't have one.

I told my folks I felt bad, I should have gone to see him. They said that near the end, he really was tired of all the visitors, just wanted the immediates and the nurse around. He knew that he was in my thoughts. I think he'd rather have had me remember him as the strong guy he was. Quite a guy, quite a lasting impression on me and I am sure just a ton of other people.

I dread funurals...but don't we all of course....but I am actually looking forward to seeing the folks who will turn up. Its gonna be packed, and every last person there will have at least 1 very touching and 1 very funny story to tell about Ron. Because thats how he was.

I'm sorry for your loss, JD.  It sounds like you have some very fond memories to help you get through this difficult time.  Sometimes it's more helpful to remember someone as they were, not as they were near the end.  Please try to refrain from taking a trip down the lane of "I should have"......it doesn't do you any good.  Your fond memories of him are what he would have wanted you to focus on.  From your description, your uncle sounds like he was a great man.  When you think of him, remember how fortunate you are to have known him.

With sincere sympathy,

Sandy