A Surprising Goodbye

Today we said our final good-byes to Uncle Bill who went into the hospital just over a week ago for a surgery. Upon some pre-surgery tests, a very fast spreading cancer was found throughout his body. One week later, he passed away surrounded by his family. Uncle Bill was a really generous man. He was kind of gruff so you would really not know how kind and loving he was. He cursed like a sailor but had the heart of a saint. I found out just today that Uncle Bill was awarded a bronze medal while serving in Korea. Eric Googled this medal and it is one of the very highest honors that can be earned. In the past months, Uncle Bill had been in a lot of pain and not buzzing around town in one of his brand-new Cadddies or sports cars like he was used to doing his entire life. He was lonely and bored. Family and friends were spending more time with him at his home in Port Huron. Eric and I took the kids up there a few weeks back and he taught Eric his method of winning at roulette. He said he spent much of free time in his adult life on the statistics of the game and had a fool-proof method, not to mention a real casino roulette wheel in his diningroom. In his honor (and to hopefully make a few bucks) Eric and I are gonna try it out some time soon. We had hoped to ask Uncle Bill along for our gambling afternoon, not knowing how soon we would have to say goodbye. Uncle Bill was a lifelong bachelor and quite the ladies man. One of Eric's (and mine) favorite stories is when Bill was a much younger man, he and a date had the craving for lobster one evening so they...hopped in his brand new Cadillac and drove through the night to Maine. Uncle Bill was a perfectionist who lived in a home that he completely renovated and perfected to his specifications. Uncle Bill will be much missed and his life stories will live on for a long time.