Uncle Jim

I lost my Uncle Jim this week. He was a special man, and though we haven't seen much of each other in a lot of years, I will miss the opportunity of seeing him in the future. He was called "Golden Toes" at Muskegon High School in the 50's when he attended there. He was a great kicker and held records for a zillion years, it seems. He married my dad's youngest sister, Mary, when I was about 9 or 10. It is the first wedding I remember attending and I didn't know him, but my Aunt Mary was a beautiful young girl and she was always nice to me and I liked her.

Uncle Jim quickly became part of our family and he became a sort of 'big-brother' to me. He would always play basketball or football or catch with me and he always had a way about him that made everthing kind of fun. He spent some serious time with me as a teen. He is one of the men I remember as having a lot of influence on me while I was growing up. Years later, I was fortunate to be able to give some of this back. I was coaching youth baseball and his son, Jimmy, played for me. Jimmy is probably as special as his father.

I will miss Uncle Jim. I will miss his smile and his deep chuckle he had. He always seemed happy to see me and I know I was happy to see him. I have missed time with him for quite a while. I send my prayers to him and I hope he will pray for me. See you soon, Uncle Jim. Keep a place open for me.