Friday, October 28, 2011

For Pete's Sake


This is my dear Uncle Pete. 
He is one of a kind. 
I come from kind of a serious family. But Uncle Pete is fantastically funny. 
He brings joy and humor to our family gatherings. 
His jokes were always kind, never at someone's expense. 
But somehow, still funny.

He is sincere and loving. 
He's genuinely interested in others. 

He is a super talented guy too. 
He's a boss upright bass player...
amazing photographer (he photographed our wedding)...
and a gifted artist with a passion for the natural beauty of rare woods.

He's dad of three. 
New grandad to three with one in the oven. 
That's him there with baby Jude. 

He looked incredibly dapper (above) as he and his beautiful wife celebrated 
their youngest daughter's wedding just last month.

He is a gem. 
With a good, good heart. 

And a bad heart. 
He was born with a bicuspid aortic valve.
He had lots of fixes including a pace maker. 
It gave off a very loud tick that I found somehow soothing. 
It put babies to sleep on his chest without fail.

But last night...it went silent.

So tomorrow Hazel and I fly to her 2nd funeral in her 9 short weeks of life. 
We converge on Greenville S.C. with a sea of other Deckers who loved our Pete so much.
I hope some of his humor will be present in this serious bunch at this sad, sad time. 

Thanks for the laughs Uncle Pete. They live on.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, I am so sorry. It is evident that Pete was an amazing guy. It's also evident that you'll be carrying him in your heart forever. I'll pray for you and your family.

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  2. This is such a beautiful post. I'm so sorry for your loss. You and Hazel have a safe trip and give our love to the Deckers. We'll be thinking of you. Hugs.

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  3. Oh no! Prayers of peace and comfort to you and your family... Thank you for sharing Uncle Pete's story. xo

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