Uncle Sam died Friday night. My real Uncle. He was 91 and dad's last surviving sibling Though we were never together as often as either of us wished, I always knew him to be a kind, good man.
Sam around 1933
I have vague memories of an extended visit with us in North Carolina soon after his high school graduation. In the years prior to that, Grandpa Wachs would drive the family for visits in his Hudson Terraplane auto which either Sam or younger brother Jack renamed the 'Terrible-Pain'.
After serving as an enlistee, Sam graduated Officers' Training School and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant. When Jack was in army Basic Training, he received a visit from Sam to the amazement of his cadre when they saw the brothers together.
Prior to Officer's Commission
In 1962, when stationed in Atlanta, I received my Sergeant's permission to catch a 'hop' with a couple of officers who were returning to their Alabama post.
Because they were flying a single engine aircraft, I had to have a parachute from our supply room. They dropped me off in Montgomery where I called Aunt June who picked me up. When Sam came in from work that afternoon, he was slightly bewildered to see a military parachute lying on his living room floor.
In the 1990's, Sam was registering at a hotel in Westen N.C. where he was attending a wedding. The hotel manager, noting his name, asked if he were related to me. Turns out that the manager had been a long-ago fraternity brother, Mark Raby.
A few years ago, my wife and I were having Sunday brunch in Blowing Rock, N.C., when the folks at the (very) nearby table mentioned Montgomery and engaged us in conversation. I said that I had been born there and still had an Uncle Sam who lived there. He asked Sam's name and when I spoke it, he said, "I know Sam Wachs !" Turned out that indeed they were members of the same Presbyterian Church.
Attending our Family Rites of Passage was of great importance to Unk. He and June were among family members who came up for both my parents' funerals. And we were especially delighted that he and June came to our wedding in 2001. When living in Alabama, my daughter visited them several times and felt very close to her grand-father's younger brother
Dad's siblings: Uncle Sam on far right side with Jack, Lydia, Betty and RuthEllen
More recently, Sam experienced a major stroke from which he had made extremely impressive rehabilitation and he and his wife had relocated to a nearby assisted living facility. On my recent birthday, he FaceTimed me with a gracious invitation to come to visit them and stay in their house which was at the time unoccupied. Very soon thereafter, the Corona Virus restrictions came into being and there was no visit. Within the past few days, his cardiac condition worsened and he died on Friday.
The late author, Pat Conroy, wrote "among the worst things about growing old is the loss of those irreplaceable friends who added richness and depth to your life." Uncle Sam was that person to many whose life he touched.
Requiescat in Pace, Unk
Satchel
When all of my grandmother's sibling as well as grandpa and all his siblings - around 20 in all - had died, despite good health herself, grandma often spoke of a loneliness that in my 20s I did not understand as her kids were all close by and one even lived with her. She said that it was just different speaking with someone who had experienced what she had.
ReplyDeleteAs the years passed and one by one all my aunts and uncles died and even some of my cousins, I've often thought of grandma's comment. Some things you just have to experience to appreciate.
Thanks for the words. Yes he was a remarkable uncle with that irreplaceable smile. He touched so many lives. If you ever met him you never forgot him. Love & hugs to you you & your family!
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