Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Uncle Henry...

Yesterday my Uncle Henry moved on from his earthly home to his eternal one. In the past 3 years, much of his body and mind had already failed him, leaving him all the more eager for his heavenly home. The only sadness I can feel is in knowing that it is the end of an earthly relationship and the conclusion of a long, well lived life.

When I think of Uncle Henry a few memorable things come to mind...

Uncle Henry was an orderly man. This was evident in his farm. Even as a child I was in awe of Uncle Henry's farm, meticulous and organized, in contrast to many of my farm experiences. His machine shop, his farm yard, his National Geographic collection... all in order!

He was also from a generation that was resourceful, if you needed something you made it and if it was broken you fixed it. He built his farm house and multitudes of other projects. He loved his tools and machinery. I marvel that he left his expansive grain fields and farm land and adapted to retirement in a condominium complex!

Another thing about Uncle Henry... in our family his name is pretty much synonymous with tractors. Nobody can see a John Deere tractor without commenting on Uncle Henry! His love of collecting and showing scale model farm machinery brought much joy to himself and to the many others who enjoyed his collections.

The most important thing about Uncle Henry was that although he was a very quiet and reserved man, he often spoke in simple and confident words of his faith in God. It was a blessing to my family, during one of his California visits, to have him share his testimony at one of our church meetings. Today I know that Uncle Henry is rejoicing, free from the encumbrances of a worn-out body.  I look forward to gathering and celebrating his life with family and friends!





2 comments:

  1. I have a great deal of admiration for Uncle Henry--he was a man of integrity, commitment, faith and hard work. He's gone on to a far better place!

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  2. Uncle Henry will be missed much around our home and the family festivities that we have grown used to having him at over the years. He was a man of great depth. It did take some coaxing to get him to share much, but when he did it told you how much life experience he had. One thing I will never forget about him is how resourceful he was (often in cahoots with Les finding some way to re-create 'the wheel'). I appreciated seeing his farm and shop when I was a younger man, and still wish I could manage what I have as well as he did.
    And, his shop was a place of wonderment for a guy that likes tools. He even had an overhead shaft-driven shop full of stationary tools that required moving belts to turn them 'on' and 'off.'
    We'll see you soon enough Uncle Henry! We love you, Bob and Family

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