Now Gone

Today Uncle Jack passed away, with many of his family members surrounding him just before he passed on.  

I have begun collecting stories about him for some scrapbook pages I am working on, and haven't had time to put them to paper, but wanted to share them in his honor today.

From his grandson Josh:

One of the things everyone notices about Grandpa is that he has amazing eyebrows. I recall several Christmases in the late 80s and early 90s when all the grandkids got a first-hand look at just how amazing they were.

On occasion, Grandpa would secretly go into another room and back-comb his eyebrows so they were as large and bushy as possible. Then he'd turn his collar up so it would almost be touching his ears. And he'd come roaring out where all the kids were playing with his hands like claws in the air and his teeth bared, doing a fantastic Dracula. We'd all scream and laugh and run around. It was funny every single time.

From his granddaughter Kaye:

I remember so many family meals at their house. One that stands out in my memory was for a Thanksgiving day meal. We were all seated, the food on the table smelling wonderful and Grandpa had asked someone to say the prayer. The prayer began and my brother, tempted by the wonderful smelling rolls thought he would sneak the first while others had their eyes shut. Grandpa being ever aware shot out a fork and promptly poked Dave's hand mid- swipe. I did not think I could suppress the laughter any longer, thank goodness the prayer was short. Sorry if you read this Dave-had to share!

From his granddaughter Heidi:

What stands out most to me is how multi-faceted Grandpa is. One moment her is talking your ear off about the smart ways to invest and the next he is showing you how to tap dance. I remember one summer when we were staying with him, he thought Beth and I spent too much time indoors. So he decided to teach us to tap dance. Every day for a week he would take us out on the front sidewalk and drill us on the few steps he had taught us. I never did learn to tap dance, but I remember those sunny afternoons fondly.  I also vaguely remember going to see Captian Kangaroo with Emily and Mike beacuse of Grandpa.(Jack was a lead character on a children's television program.)

From his great grandkids, Heidi's children:

My children best remember Great Grandpa as the man with all the hats. He and Grandma came to visit once and he brought in a big black garbage bag full of hats. He sat all the kids down around him and read them a story about the different hats we wear. They thought he was the coolest old man they had ever seen.

From his granddaughter Beth Minda:

Grandpa has for me always been a source of inspiration. I learned to dance because of him. I learned to teach because him. His beautiful voice taught me to love stories. His wisdom though scary at times to a shy little girl was always awe inspiring. What I most remember though is his beautiful way of encouraging everyone to be the best at what they do. Strong, smart and very goodlooking no wonder grandma fell hard for him.

From his daughter Janell:

My favorite memory of Dad is the Saturday morning he asked me, at age 9, if I'd like to walk in the woods. I spent most of my waking hours in the woods so I was very happy to go. He said, "We'll need to take a few things along. Get a small frying pan and three eggs." 
I had no idea what this was all about. We scrambled through the woods until we found an old corrugated metal window well. Dad flipped it in the upside down U position and proceeded to build a good boy scout fire under it. Then he made us scrambled eggs. Boy is food tasty in the woods! He told me stories as we ate.