Phil,
I remember your Uncle Fred Stories.  Some people are just amazing!
Kathy




At 04:44 PM 1/22/2007, you wrote:
>My uncle was sort of like my dad and grandfather.  He was my dad's oldest
>brother.  Not only did we call him Uncle Fred, but everybody in the
>neighborhood and everybody whoever got to know him.  He lived with us the
>passed 9 years of his life and nearly made it to 92 years of age.  He was a
>great man.  Never got beyond the 8th grade.  Took over the farm as a
>teenager when their dad died which was 2 months before my father was born.
>His funeral arrangements had been paid for many years ago, before he moved
>to Denver to live with us, so when he passed away, his body was sent back to
>Kansas and some of my cousins had a small graveside service there.  He was a
>very meek man, hardly ever told jokes, and I can count on one hand the
>number of times he became upset.  Even then, his getting upset and my
>getting upset cannot be compared.  Well, on a scale of 1 to ten, Uncle Fred
>would be a 1 and I would be a ten.  For his funeral, memorial service, here
>in Denver, all my sisters and their families came over.  My mom was still
>alive.  A couple of friends that knew him came by, too.  We sat and told
>stories about Uncle Fred.  I learned things about him I had never heard
>before and it was the coolest funeral I had ever been in.  We laughed and
>all the crying was held until everyone in the room said something about what
>they remember about Uncle Fred.  I wish we would have at least recorded it
>because it was wonderful.  He was the most unusual man I ever knew.
>
>Phil.