On Sept. 28 I blogged about visiting my aunt, the only surviving sister of mom's six sisters, in a nearby small Wisconsin town. I hadn't seen her for a few years. Since she had moved in recently within the town, we were unsure of her address. Plum City is a tiny town of just hundreds and we were pretty confident we could find her by asking locals. On the way we stopped at the cheese factory in Ellsworth, the next town. Leaving, we were surprised to be stopped by my cousin John and his wife who spotted us. That is Aunt Marcella's son. It was good to see him and his wife. He is newly retired and they were in their RV headed for a weekend camping trip with their kids and grandkids. He gave us directions to his mom's (Aunt Marcella) house and her phone number. Then they called ahead and we were greeted by my aunt as we got out of the car.
Yesterday afternoon I got a call from my mom's younger brother's wife. "I have bad news", she said. I thought of Aunt Marcella. Yesterday was her 86th birthday. "No, John died suddenly", she said. He was 60. He was found "down", no cause of death known, but his father died of heart problems in his early 50's. That family has had such sadness. Two of John's younger brothers had wives who died from cancer several years ago. One was in her 40's and left an elementary-aged son. His younger sister has lymphoma. Now his death. It struck me again when I last saw him how much he looked and sounded like his dad.
I notified my sister who reminded me his name was John Wayne. Born in 1947, a good strong name for a firstborn son. He was also a quiet man. Responsible. Friendly, but quiet. Tall, handsome, deep voice. A tribute to his dad and his namesake John Wayne. His career was management at the nuclear power plant in Red Wing. He seemed a good fit for the job. Serious. Trustworthy. A good son and father and husband. Sadly he died too young, like the other John Wayne.
No comments:
Post a Comment