It’s barely been 3 months since Dad passed and now we suffer another family loss, Uncle Dale. He was 75.
He loved to hunt, farm and build stuff. He liked Dolly Parton. There was a Dolly Parton cassette tape in his truck cassette deck. I understand he was in the process of building a corral which his son will likely complete. He had been hunting a few days earlier. He raised cattle and never sold his land at the original Winnard farm.
He has 2 children, 3 stepchildren, several grandchildren and several others he treated as his own. He was one of 7 children, 2 boys and 5 girls.
Most of my memories are of a quiet, gentle, soft spoken man who didn’t have a lot to say. I’m told he had a lot to say, just not on topics unrelated to cars, farming or hunting. In retrospect, he grew up outnumbered by girls. When we were all together, there were more girls so he barely had a chance to say anything!
Dale was shy and didn’t like to have his picture taken. Just seeing a camera would cause a disappearance but there are some rare photos I will show here. He was a Ford man so my favorite tease was driving up in a GM product and saying I had to because Ford stood for “Fix or Repair Daily” or “Found on Roadside Dead” and I didn’t have to worry about such things in my GM auto.
Uncle Dale is Dad’s youngest and only brother. I took the picture of him, siblings and cousins at Dad’s service in July so this may be the most recent photo. Uncle Dale stands behind his wife Phyllis on the far right.
I couldn’t make it to the memorial service today but I am there in spirit. The service is being held in the same church we said goodbye to Dad on July 27. I was able to visit over the weekend to share memories and get to know Phyllis and her family. Prayers and hugs to everyone.