Tuesday, July 19, 2011

In loving memory: Uncle “Buddy”

I attended a funeral today. A funeral of a man who was kind and gentle despite his height and stature. He was one of the sweetest men I knew - he was my Great Uncle.

What I saw lying in that cherry wood casket astounded me. His body, so frail, so small was merely the whisper of a man I once knew.

Cancer.

I hate it. I absolutely loathe this disgusting disease. It robs people of their life, their breath, their joy. Cancer has no prejudice - it attacks the young and the old, those with young kids, and those who will never have kids because of it. It doesn't care about age, race, or who you are.

I do find one comfort in his death - I know that he is in heaven, reunited with his wife of 62 years who passed away 3 years ago.

What I saw today made me angry - this is the reason I continue the fight.

I love celebrating with those who are blessed with a cure. Knowing that some aren't as fortunate makes the celebration of a cure all the more sweet.  Unfortunately today, I saw cancer at it’s worst.

My Great Uncle lived in New Orleans – downtown New Orleans.  He and his wife had a house there for 63 years – he lived in it until his death this past Friday. Hurricane Katrina hit them hard.  One day, I’ll share that story.  For now, I leave you with this….

unclebuddy

In loving memory:

Lawson H. Francis
Born: September 4, 1922
Died: July 15, 2011

Loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, family member, and friend.  He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He worked 35 years for General Motors and was a Charter member of UAW Local 448.   He will live forever in our hearts and memories.  He will truly be missed.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me….Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.”  Psalm 23

10 comments:

  1. Karen, I am so sorry for your loss. You and your family are in my prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. *hugs* Karen, I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle. Couldn't agree more about cancer. I have the same feelings all the time, looking forward to the day when it won't cause all this pain anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm so sorry for your loss. You're in my thoughts. I lost my great uncle to cancer last October, and I couldn't agree more with your thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so sorry for you and Brian's loss. I wish one of us could have been there with everybody.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Karen, you have completely brought tears to my eyes! Even though we were not able to go to the funeral, you have enabled me to view what it was like through your words. It would have been uncomfortable for me to be there, but I wish we could have gone as support for the family. You are a wonderful cousin, Karen.....Just wanted you to know that!
    Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. So sorry for your loss. He sounds like a wonderful man.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So sorry for your loss. What a blessing though that you had such a wonderful man in your life!

    ReplyDelete

Blog Archive

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...