My Uncle Ted

Thank you to all who have sent condolences regarding my uncle. The news is sad, but at least he is at peace. I have been thinking a lot about him the last couple of days. Today is the funeral, so I thought a memorial blog appropriate.

My first memory of Uncle Ted was that he was the one that took my father, sister and I in to his home when Dad was going through the divorce. I have always loved roses because of his collection of over 50 types in his yard in California. Even after we moved out, I enjoyed visiting him and his tasty healthy cooking. No really, it was tasty! During one of those pleasant visits, he was the first one to introduce peirogies to Jenny and I. What was really special to me was how he would get so excited whenever he saw Jenny or I approach that he would always giggle. I will remember that lovely giggle the rest of my life.

He was also very generous. As a child he would give me books for my birthdays, encouraging my love of reading. I still have some of them and will cherish them always. As we grew up, he continued to keep giving us gifts. Jenny and I received a large amount of money each, once we had graduated from university, to pay off student loans and any other debt we had.

I never got to tell him how I always looked forward to his birthday card every year. I remember the first one I received after his stroke, the writing was very scribbly, but he simply wrote, I still didn't forget. It always makes me smile when I think of that card. He was going through so much, but didn't forget me. I knew something was wrong when I didn't get one this year, even though I am now in London.

I never got to tell him how much I admired him for scuba diving like he did, with only one leg. That is just the kind of person he was . . brave, adventurous, and
caring. When we were little, Jenny and I had a name for him, Uncle Teddy Bear. That is exactly what he was to us, a loveable, huggable teddy bear. We love you Uncle Ted, always.

Love,
Cory