For the last couple years my Uncle Glen (my dads sisters husband) has been pretty sick with Parkinsons disease that was caused from the exposure to agent orange while in active combat in Vietnam. He was a really incredible man in the church and in his community. Throughout my life I didn't have the chance to be around him very often because he lived in Utah but what I remember of him was his tall stature, deep voice and kind personality. He was a loving husband and father and a sweet man. My uncle passed away on August the 26th. My parents flew out to go to his funeral.
His obituary can be found HERE
His obituary can be found HERE
Picture from my Uncle Glen's funeral
After my Uncle Glen's funeral my parents on their flight home they ended up having something like a 10 hour layover in AZ close to the hospital that my moms brother Tim was in at the time. My Uncle Tim has had declining health for as long as I can remember. He was a quirky man who through some of his life was homeless. He however had a huge heart and would give someone the shirt off of his own back if he thought they needed it. After my Uncle Tim had emergency surgery to repair his hernia and blocked bowel he had complications. His liver and kidneys shut down and his lungs were 80% filled with fluid. The dr's released him from the hospital and he entered hospice.
When my parents flew through AZ my mom ended up just staying there while my dad continued home to KY. My Uncle Tim passed away on September the 5th while my mom was in town. I am really thankful that my mom was there and able to help out with funeral arrangements and able to say her goodbyes beforehand. After the funeral my mom flew home and I picked her up from the airport late last night.
My Uncle Tim's funeral (picture taken from my other uncles facebook page)
It is really crazy to think about the fact that both men passed away within 10 days of each other and that my parents had flown out to one funeral and then had a layover with their plane in the area where my mom needed to be at the time. Definitely a tender mercy.
After these experiences it has caused me to reflect on life and relationships. I am thankful for my family; my relationship with my husband and children, and my parents and siblings, my husbands parents and his siblings and extended family. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the role that the church plays in my life. I am thankful for the blessings I have, just to name a few : a loving family, a beautiful house, great schools for my children to attend....etc. Life is unexpected and things happen. I am thankful for the connections that I have made and for those special people who make life even sweeter. Uncle Glen and Uncle Tim left behind many people who love them but I know that through the gospel it teaches us that we will be reunited with our loved ones again.
*the following paragraphs I got off of mormon.org that shares some of the LDS beliefs that I have:
Most of us would probably say we want to live forever. That’s exactly what God gave to each of us when He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die for us and to atone for our sins. It’s called resurrection and everyone born on earth, even wicked people, will receive this gift of immortality ( 1 Corinthians 15:22 ).
On the third day after His Crucifixion, Jesus Christ became the first person to be resurrected. His spirit was reunited with His glorified, perfected body and He could no longer die. When Christ’s friends went to visit His tomb, angels said, "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said" ( Matthew 28:6 )
Click on the following link if you would like to learn more:
http://mormon.org/
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