Gone Too Soon

This is a hard post to write.  It is SO difficult to put into words the way I feel, and to adequately express just how amazing these men are.  But I want my children to know them, and to know how much they affected and influenced my life...so I'm going to try.

I lost an Uncle last year.  My Uncle Glen passed away suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack. He was such a GOOD man.  The kind of man that would not only give you the shirt off his back, but find a way to get a few more to send home with you. (So that you could hopefully avoid getting into this shirtless predicament again.)  :)  I don't think I realized until he was gone just how much of a constant support he was for the entire family.  Whether you had car problems, or house problems, or needed help with anything at all...he was always just a phone call away.  He was a fountain of knowledge, and a VERY hard worker.

If you read my blog, you know how much we LOVE to go to the cabin every year.  Uncle Glen is a huge part of my wonderful childhood cabin experiences.  I remember sitting around the campfire talking with him, and going on dune buggy rides... He would give us ALL rides in the dune buggy every year. (And there were A LOT of us!)  It would literally take hours, but he did it for us.  I can't even tell you how much I miss his unique, macho, crackley voice and laugh, and I think about him often.   

My Uncle Jerry passed in 2005, and since I didn't have a blog back then, I've never taken the time to write down my thoughts about my sweet Uncle Jerry.  Jerry was a father-figure to me when I was a kid. He was the one that baptized me when my Dad wasn't able to.  (My Grandpa Jensen confirmed me.)  He always had a twinkle in his eye and I swear even his resting face was a slight smile.  He was a spiritual giant serving as bishop and stake president in West Jordan for MANY years. He was serving as mission president in Pennsylvania when he became ill.  He was not getting better, and was admitted into the hospital.  It was there that they discovered he had the same lung disease (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) that my Grandma DeOn had had, and that his illness (pneumonia?) was exacerbated by it.  He didn't survive, and we were all SHOCKED.  I miss Uncle Jerry terribly, and would do anything to hear his deep, powerful voice again...possibly singing the "Noah" song or "Ol' Man River" from Showboat. 

I know that someday I will hear their voices again.  I will run to them, and give them big gigantic hugs!