I no longer have an uncle or brother. My last uncle passed away on November 30th and then my brother passed

[McNutt76]

away on December 5th. My uncle was my father's youngest brother and was 88 years old. My brother, on the other hand, was 72.

My wife and I went to my uncle's funeral Thursday and it was a very positive experience. I was one of the pall bearers and we met at a church in Cortland, IN for lunch after the funeral at a mortuary in Seymour.

Two of my cousins, my wife, the wife of one of those cousins and I sat at a table together for lunch. It was the first time I had seen those cousins for several years. One of them is a retired dermatologist and the other was the head of HR for Home News Enterprises before it was acquired by Aim Media several years ago.

Ironically, those two cousins, my brother and I all lived in McNutt Quad my freshman year at IU. None of us were roommates, but we still saw each other almost every day during the 1972-73 school year. All of us had graduated from Columbus High School. In fact, one of those cousins graduated with me. Our photos were next to each other in both our high school yearbook and the Arbutus. That said, we had some fun stories to share regarding my dentist buddy because he also lived in McNutt (next door to me) the second semester of our freshman year.

My brother's wife died about 18 months before him and he was never the same afterward. It turns out he had some form of cancer that appeared to be the result of a genetic illness that caused him to lose his immune system. Of course, that type of complicated stuff goes right over my bald head.

Getting old is tough! All four of my grandparents are gone, my parents passed away more than 10 years ago and I have no biological aunts or uncles who are still alive. Fortunately, my wife, son and sister still survive. I also still have seven cousins.

What's my point? You might want to stay in contact with your relatives because you never know when one of them might pass away.

 

[MyTeamIsOnTheFloor]

Sage wisdom McNutt. My best to you and your family.

 

[hookyIU1990]

Sorry for your loss McNutt

 

[McNutt76]

Sage wisdom McNutt. My best to you and your family.

Thank you!

 

[McNutt76]

Sorry for your loss McNutt.

Thank you, hooky.

 

[abraxis]

Everytime one of my contemporaries dies I beat myself up, regretful that I wasn’t a better friend, unable to come to the realization of what it was that kept holding me back all those years. Is it shyness, the invisible wall? Is it laziness, the path of least resistance? Selfishness in glorification of Ego? A potpourri of character flaws perhaps? It happens every time.

“The older you get, the faster time goes by yadda-yadda-yadda, but it’s true. I have a 7-day medication dispenser from CVS. For you young bucks, it’s a convenience device to save time and motion. You fill it up with your arsenal of pills just once a week so you’re not twisting a bunch of bottle caps each day. I take five pills each night for BP, cholesterol (2), piss pill, and 81 gms baby aspirin to thin the blood. Oh, and a boner pill or two for those rare occasions of debauchery, usually performed in the state of inebriation…and that’s with a trophy wife!

My point of this glib conversation? When it comes time to fill up the plastic pill hoppers, I swear it seems like I did it just yesterday. If this seems like something you don’t think you can relate to, just you wait. Father Time always finds you. He wins out in The End after The End is near.

 

[VanPastorMan]

away on December 5th. My uncle was my father's youngest brother and was 88 years old. My brother, on the other hand, was 72.

My wife and I went to my uncle's funeral Thursday and it was a very positive experience. I was one of the pall bearers and we met at a church in Cortland, IN for lunch after the funeral at a mortuary in Seymour.

Two of my cousins, my wife, the wife of one of those cousins and I sat at a table together for lunch. It was the first time I had seen those cousins for several years. One of them is a retired dermatologist and the other was the head of HR for Home News Enterprises before it was acquired by Aim Media several years ago.

Ironically, those two cousins, my brother and I all lived in McNutt Quad my freshman year at IU. None of us were roommates, but we still saw each other almost every day during the 1972-73 school year. All of us had graduated from Columbus High School. In fact, one of those cousins graduated with me. Our photos were next to each other in both our high school yearbook and the Arbutus. That said, we had some fun stories to share regarding my dentist buddy because he also lived in McNutt (next door to me) the second semester of our freshman year.

My brother's wife died about 18 months before him and he was never the same afterward. It turns out he had some form of cancer that appeared to be the result of a genetic illness that caused him to lose his immune system. Of course, that type of complicated stuff goes right over my bald head.

Getting old is tough! All four of my grandparents are gone, my parents passed away more than 10 years ago and I have no biological aunts or uncles who are still alive. Fortunately, my wife, son and sister still survive. I also still have seven cousins.

What's my point? You might want to stay in contact with your relatives because you never know when one of them might pass away.

Great wisdom my friend. About six months ago my sister got what I think is her first cell phone. Because of this we have talked on the phone and texted. We even do the Facebook because my wife used her account to invite my sister. I don't have a Facebook but I can use my wife's if I tell people it is me. My point in saying this is that I am glad to be in contact with my sister. For years she was the kind who separated herself from the family. She was the kind who would move to another apartment and not tell anyone. But we have reconnected and it has been great. She called me Friday to say they found two lumps on her breast and will have to get a mammogram to find out what it is. Like you said, we don't know how long those we are related to will be with us. It is important to get as close as you can.

 

[abraxis]

Great wisdom my friend. About six months ago my sister got what I think is her first cell phone. Because of this we have talked on the phone and texted. We even do the Facebook because my wife used her account to invite my sister. I don't have a Facebook but I can use my wife's if I tell people it is me. My point in saying this is that I am glad to be in contact with my sister. For years she was the kind who separated herself from the family. She was the kind who would move to another apartment and not tell anyone. But we have reconnected and it has been great. She called me Friday to say they found two lumps on her breast and will have to get a mammogram to find out what it is. Like you said, we don't know how long those we are related to will be with us. It is important to get as close as you can.

The lumps are more often benign. My wife has had a couple biopsy scares come back negative/benign. Hopefully your sister will have a good report, but I’ll say a little prayer for her later tonight just for something extra in case a little extra is needed, that never comes “the day”.

 

[McNutt76]

Everytime one of my contemporaries dies I beat myself up, regretful that I wasn’t a better friend, unable to come to the realization of what it was that kept holding me back all those years. Is it shyness, the invisible wall? Is it laziness, the path of least resistance? Selfishness in glorification of Ego? A potpourri of character flaws perhaps? It happens every time.

“The older you get, the faster time goes by yadda-yadda-yadda, but it’s true. I have a 7-day medication dispenser from CVS. For you young bucks, it’s a convenience device to save time and motion. You fill it up with your arsenal of pills just once a week so you’re not twisting a bunch of bottle caps each day. I take five pills each night for BP, cholesterol (2), piss pill, and 81 gms baby aspirin to thin the blood. Oh, and a boner pill or two for those rare occasions of debauchery, usually performed in the state of inebriation…and that’s with a trophy wife!

My point of this glib conversation? When it comes time to fill up the plastic pill hoppers, I swear it seems like I did it just yesterday. If this seems like something you don’t think you can relate to, just you wait. Father Time always finds you. He wins out in The End after The End is near.

I agree with you. Even though I'm 70 years old, I'm still working full-time selling office equipment. As a result, my weeks just fly by--except during winter time. I absolutely hate winter time and the days drag by as a result. March can't arrive soon enough for me.

 

[McNutt76]

Great wisdom my friend. About six months ago my sister got what I think is her first cell phone. Because of this we have talked on the phone and texted. We even do the Facebook because my wife used her account to invite my sister. I don't have a Facebook but I can use my wife's if I tell people it is me. My point in saying this is that I am glad to be in contact with my sister. For years she was the kind who separated herself from the family. She was the kind who would move to another apartment and not tell anyone. But we have reconnected and it has been great. She called me Friday to say they found two lumps on her breast and will have to get a mammogram to find out what it is. Like you said, we don't know how long those we are related to will be with us. It is important to get as close as you can.

I agree with you, VanPastorMan. I have a sister who is about six years younger than me. For some reason, we have never been as close as we should be and I am going to try to reach out to her more often. I hope everything goes well for your sister.

 

[evvcabinetman]

Sorry for your losses McNutt.

"Enjoy every sandwich" - Warren Zevon

 

[abraxis]

I agree with you. Even though I'm 70 years old, I'm still working full-time selling office equipment. As a result, my weeks just fly by--except during winter time. I absolutely hate winter time and the days drag by as a result. March can't arrive soon enough for me.

I retired 12 years ago from the big albatross, occupation. The fact that time feels like it is going by fast for you is not because your time is still “occupied” per se. Having nothing to do but today and nowhere to go with all day to get there, one still has a routine, even if that routine is a bunch of nothingness to be filled with more nothing. Each subsequent decade seems to go by quicker than the decade one before. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is due to some, as yet, undiscoverable reason at the quantum particle level where physical “laws” are not the same as in the more relatable macro world governed by classical laws of physics, ie Dr Einstein’s space-time warpage thing we know today as simply gravity. Gravity can’t be explained today in the world of sub-atomic particles with its many quirks and quarks. Until that time of greater future understanding, further conjecture will remain in the file marked “Poetic Poppycock”.

I suspect your self-professed distain for winter is golf related. That is understandable. We get that. Those of more competitive nature need an outlet for fulfillment. In your case, it’s called Florida. My wife and I love winter-the more snow the better it becomes for us as one. Neither of us play golf anymore. I don’t think she ever did-I’ve yet to ask. We’re not structured game players of any kind but do find ourselves engaging in the less ambitious, more ambiguous, unavoidable “games” people might play in show of oneupmanship, the rank and order of those more hen-pecked.

Time is like life insurance, you just can’t win. Until the time comes to file a claim, you think you’re paying too much. If you do ever finally need it, you always think it’s not enough, wishing you had paid more in thought of not enough. Time left come to past cannot be passed that way once more, forevermore. Henceforward, time future, we take comfort in “Seize the Day” of Roman poet Horace and “Be Here Now” of stoned-out hippie, wanna-be-guru, Ram Dass.

 

[outside shooter]

Sorry to hear about losing relatives.

As the youngest in the family by a fair amount, I lost my grandparents by the time I was a teenager, lost all of my aunts and uncles as well as my parents, lost my brother at age 59 to a heart attack, and my other brother is battling a terminal illness at 74.

I am only 61, but seeing especially the young death of my brother to the sudden heart attack (he was a fit MD, ran marathons, and didn't see any warnings), I have decided that I am not going to work until 70. I have saved well and want to enjoy retirement beginning at 65, 66, or 67.

 

[hoosier roadtrips]

That is always sad to lose close relatives. I'm sorry for your loss.

My only brother died in 2017 and my close friend for 46 years (since college days) died of cancer in March of 2020. I have been somewhat lost since then, with no one to talk to about sports or any other topics. My only friend left resides in Arkansas and he and his wife are both in bad health.

As an former boss told me several years before he died, you have to be tough to get old.

 

[kkott]

away on December 5th. My uncle was my father's youngest brother and was 88 years old. My brother, on the other hand, was 72.

My wife and I went to my uncle's funeral Thursday and it was a very positive experience. I was one of the pall bearers and we met at a church in Cortland, IN for lunch after the funeral at a mortuary in Seymour.

Two of my cousins, my wife, the wife of one of those cousins and I sat at a table together for lunch. It was the first time I had seen those cousins for several years. One of them is a retired dermatologist and the other was the head of HR for Home News Enterprises before it was acquired by Aim Media several years ago.

Ironically, those two cousins, my brother and I all lived in McNutt Quad my freshman year at IU. None of us were roommates, but we still saw each other almost every day during the 1972-73 school year. All of us had graduated from Columbus High School. In fact, one of those cousins graduated with me. Our photos were next to each other in both our high school yearbook and the Arbutus. That said, we had some fun stories to share regarding my dentist buddy because he also lived in McNutt (next door to me) the second semester of our freshman year.

My brother's wife died about 18 months before him and he was never the same afterward. It turns out he had some form of cancer that appeared to be the result of a genetic illness that caused him to lose his immune system. Of course, that type of complicated stuff goes right over my bald head.

Getting old is tough! All four of my grandparents are gone, my parents passed away more than 10 years ago and I have no biological aunts or uncles who are still alive. Fortunately, my wife, son and sister still survive. I also still have seven cousins.

What's my point? You might want to stay in contact with your relatives because you never know when one of them might pass away.

Sorry McNutt, loss like that is always hard, no matter the circumstances. Glad it sounds like you have some fond memories to look back on.

 

[iubud]

away on December 5th. My uncle was my father's youngest brother and was 88 years old. My brother, on the other hand, was 72.

My wife and I went to my uncle's funeral Thursday and it was a very positive experience. I was one of the pall bearers and we met at a church in Cortland, IN for lunch after the funeral at a mortuary in Seymour.

Two of my cousins, my wife, the wife of one of those cousins and I sat at a table together for lunch. It was the first time I had seen those cousins for several years. One of them is a retired dermatologist and the other was the head of HR for Home News Enterprises before it was acquired by Aim Media several years ago.

Ironically, those two cousins, my brother and I all lived in McNutt Quad my freshman year at IU. None of us were roommates, but we still saw each other almost every day during the 1972-73 school year. All of us had graduated from Columbus High School. In fact, one of those cousins graduated with me. Our photos were next to each other in both our high school yearbook and the Arbutus. That said, we had some fun stories to share regarding my dentist buddy because he also lived in McNutt (next door to me) the second semester of our freshman year.

My brother's wife died about 18 months before him and he was never the same afterward. It turns out he had some form of cancer that appeared to be the result of a genetic illness that caused him to lose his immune system. Of course, that type of complicated stuff goes right over my bald head.

Getting old is tough! All four of my grandparents are gone, my parents passed away more than 10 years ago and I have no biological aunts or uncles who are still alive. Fortunately, my wife, son and sister still survive. I also still have seven cousins.

What's my point? You might want to stay in contact with your relatives because you never know when one of them might pass away.

Sorry for your loss. My wife lost her parents when she was in her 30's. She is not close to her cousins and uncles that are a prominent family in Columbus by the way.. She lost her brother and my best friend 5 years ago. She has no family left. Her mother's family are all gone except some cousins she has never met.

It bothered me that my wife and I "postponed" our monthly get together with my brother in law and his wife so we could go to IU football game. He died from a widow maker heart attack that night playing cards at home. Being together wouldn't have necessarily change anything, but we lost the last opportunity to be together. In earlier years, we would have been to the game together.

I learned we can't predict the future and we can't have regrets. I still have 3 uncles and 4 aunts. I've only lost one uncle and one aunt. I was thinking recently that realistically,I won't see my cousins and aunts and uncles until the next funeral. Or maybe not. I'm tired of family reunions at funeral. Maybe because the last two times I saw an aunt, uncle or cousin in the last 6 years were for my parents' funerals.

 

[destewart]

Sorry for your loss. After a series of health issues in my late 50’s I decided to enhance my chances of seeing my grandchildren graduate and marry. At 58 I stepped back and while I thought my Type A behavior would prevail I never looked back and have not worked a day, or received a paycheck in 24 years. Once in a while I miss the “rush” but then common sense prevails. I am a firm believer Frank Capra had it right, it is “A Wonderful Life!”

 

[vesuvius13]

away on December 5th. My uncle was my father's youngest brother and was 88 years old. My brother, on the other hand, was 72.

My wife and I went to my uncle's funeral Thursday and it was a very positive experience. I was one of the pall bearers and we met at a church in Cortland, IN for lunch after the funeral at a mortuary in Seymour.

Two of my cousins, my wife, the wife of one of those cousins and I sat at a table together for lunch. It was the first time I had seen those cousins for several years. One of them is a retired dermatologist and the other was the head of HR for Home News Enterprises before it was acquired by Aim Media several years ago.

Ironically, those two cousins, my brother and I all lived in McNutt Quad my freshman year at IU. None of us were roommates, but we still saw each other almost every day during the 1972-73 school year. All of us had graduated from Columbus High School. In fact, one of those cousins graduated with me. Our photos were next to each other in both our high school yearbook and the Arbutus. That said, we had some fun stories to share regarding my dentist buddy because he also lived in McNutt (next door to me) the second semester of our freshman year.

My brother's wife died about 18 months before him and he was never the same afterward. It turns out he had some form of cancer that appeared to be the result of a genetic illness that caused him to lose his immune system. Of course, that type of complicated stuff goes right over my bald head.

Getting old is tough! All four of my grandparents are gone, my parents passed away more than 10 years ago and I have no biological aunts or uncles who are still alive. Fortunately, my wife, son and sister still survive. I also still have seven cousins.

What's my point? You might want to stay in contact with your relatives because you never know when one of them might pass away.

I just saw this post and I am sorry about your loss with those two men. Living in McNutt you probably saw my grandma who was the head of McNutt cleaning. Just in case you rember the name her's was Alice Crane.

 

[McNutt76]

I just saw this post and I am sorry about your loss with those two men. Living in McNutt you probably saw my grandma who was the head of McNutt cleaning. Just in case you rember the name her's was Alice Crane.

My mother's maiden name was Crane and she originally was from Brown County. Could they be related to each other? My mom graduated in 1938 from Nashville High School. I believe they had 18 seniors in their class. My father also was in that class. His name was Merril L. Moore. Both of my parents have been gone for over 10 years now.