I got news that my Uncle John passed away today. I half expected to get a call later to hear they had made a mistake. You see many years ago back in the 1940s my Uncle John was declared dead after being hit by a cabbage truck. He was in the Army at the time and was hit by this truck on base. The Army doctor declared him dead. After some time in the morgue my Uncle John woke up cold and asked the nurse for a blanket. I imagine that created quite a stir for the nurse. Later my Uncle John said the doctor never admitted to his mistake and signed my Uncle paper's saying he was fit for duty. Uncle John always figured that doctor had a golf appointment that day and in haste to keep that declared my Uncle John dead.
A few years later my Uncle John would again have a brush with death. He was in The Great War and was hit with shrapnel in the arm. It was a very bad injury. As my Uncle John checked the hospital bulletin board ( he said you always check the bulletin board in the army) he saw his name listed. He went to find out why and the doctor told him his arm was to be cut off to save him from gangrene. My Uncle John said NO! Just kill me now, because if you cut my arm off I might as well be dead. The doctor frustrated that my Uncle wouldn't let him perform the surgery decided after speaking with the higher ups that he would use this new drug he had on hand..penicillin. My Uncle cured came on home after the war to receive the purple heart for that injury. I wonder how many people he saved though by making that doctor use that new drug.
There hasn't been any phone calls yet today so I am guessing this army doctor called it right and Uncle John has gone on home.
Thank you Uncle John for these memories and many more such as:
Sharing your secret Musketeer Bar stash with me
Teaching me not to rest because you might rust
Listening to the Tigers on Sunday afternoons out by the hammock
Showing me the importance of always voting, even if you have to walk a 1/2 mile with your walker (oh yes he did)
and for saving my life when I was three and choking on a peppermint candy.
May you not rest nor rust in heaven but have a great time.
Peace!
Georgia
Comments
Yes, your Uncle John has passed away after having a series of micro strokes and being bedridden for 6-8 months but his heart never gave up until the very end.
He died on 8.31.09 at 7:30 a.m. we arrived from MI at 2:30 a.m. that same morning. Aunt Betty didn't get to say goodbye but we drove 12 hour days to get back, which wasn't fast enough in the end.
All of our children and grandchildren visited him often at the VA Hospital in Bonham, Texas. Somedays he was right there and other days he was in another place...mind wise.
The visitation is 9.5.09 from 3-4 p.m. and the funeral is 9.6.09 at 4 p.m. at Slay Memorial Funeral Home, 400 S Hwy 377, Aubrey, TX 76227, Ph: 940-365-7529.
We are all doing as well as can be expected. We have known for several months that it was just a matter of time since nothing could be done for his condition...the body just wore out.
On another note:
If you will email me I can send you photo's of what the yard looks like at my parent's house since the big wind storm/micro burst/micro tornado went through on 8.4.09. We were in MI the week of 8.21.09 to bring Aunt Betty down here and I took several digital photo's of what is left of the yard and the mess that is still there. The yard looks like a war zone with partially uprooted trees and small limbs embadded into the yard plus the 20x15 foot brush pile up on the hill near the bonfire area that is all the small limbs that no one wanted after sawing up the trees. The local fire department is going to do a control burn in the fall.
Your cousin Barbara