Tonight's blog is not about food or wine, but about an extraordinary and great person, my Uncle George (the middle one in this photo, with Uncle Spero on his right and Uncle Paul on his left), who died today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. He was 91 years old.
Uncle George was a great man, not because he was President, or had any kind of important job in his life. He was a good son, a jolly brother to his two brothers and one sister, a loving husband to the same woman for over 60 years, a wonderful father to three children, and a kind uncle to me and my cousins Jane and Tom. Uncle George always had a smile on his face and a cheerful outlook on life.
Uncle George was born in 1918, the last child of Demetrios and Vasiliki Giannacopoulos, who immigrated to America from Greece in 1912 and 1910, respectively. George was the dreamer of the family. When he was a young man, he ran away from home and hopped trains for a year, living the life of a hobo and seeing the United States. He has always had a fascination with trains and at one point had a wonderfully elaborate model train set in his basement.
He is the last of my adult family to die. Funny thing is, they all died in birth order: my grandfather (the oldest), my grandmother, Uncle Paul (1999), Uncle Spero (2000), my mother Katherine (2005), and Uncle George (2010). May they all rest in peace, those funny, loud, loving Greeks. I miss them all. My life is richer for having known them and I will never forget them.
Life goes on in a continuous wave, always moving forward. We are not meant to live forever. People pass through our lives as we grow and change. Some people make a lasting impression and when they move on, they leave a warm glow within us. My Uncle George left that legacy for everyone who knew him.
I was lucky enough to have met Uncle George. I remember him as a kind, loving man with a big heart. He was, in my opinion, most like Uncle Paul -- a truly kind, gentle and loving soul. He was one of those truly rare people whose faults and weaknesses only endeared him to you, and whose strengths afterwards left you feel good like being wrapped in a warm blanket.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is possible in this life to have a heart so big that it leaves a lasting imprint on those we touch. Uncle George was such a person. One of my favorite sayings is this - "For now we have faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." He left a legacy of love, and surely that is the greatest of legacies man can give to his family. I can only hope I am as lucky and as talented as Uncle George to have my family think of me and smile with joy at the memories I leave behind.
I feel truly honored and blessed to have met him and to have had in my life. I will miss him, but I will not be sad because I have my memories and stories I have heard about him.
So long as we remember, he will be with us.
Love you sweetie,
Chris