A Warrior, A Scholar, A Husband, A Friend

Uncle Pots passed away suddenly on October 29.  It stunned us all.  Sure, he's had health problems, but even Aunt Yone felt he was doing well.  It was devestating - not just to lose Uncle Pots but to watch Aunt Yone deal with the loss.  It's the loss of her world and my heart breaks for her.  I was able to go up not just for the funeral but for a few days before to spend with Aunt Yone and Uncle Donald, who had rushed there to be with her when he heard the news.  Dad's reaction was almost as quick as Uncle D; he was on a train within 6 hours of getting the news and arrived in Lakeland in time to drive to South Carolina with us.  I'm truly blessed with the men in my life.

I created a memorial plaque for Aunt Yone, and created a poem to recognize the exceptional person that my uncle was:

Fight the battle, win the war
As you did the time before
Down the path, open the gate
Into his arms, you won’t be late

You are precious in his sight
You are safe within his might
Ne’er more to have to roam
Now you wait for us at home

And the time will come I hear
When again we will be near
Until then we face our fight
Walking always to the light

His obituary appeared online and in the Columbia paper:
Rest in Peace: Funeral service for First Sgt. Henry Melville Jackson Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.), 76, will be held 1 p.m. Tuesday, November 2, 2010, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, with burial with full military honors in Ft. Jackson National Cemetery. Visitation will precede the service at the funeral home, beginning at noon.

Mr. Jackson died October 28, 2010. Born October 8, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio, he was a son of the late Henry M. Jackson Sr. and Gertrude Louise Cumpton Jackson. He retired as a First Sergeant from the U.S. Army, serving three tours in Vietnam. A former Green Beret, he was a life member of the Special Forces Association and the National Rifle Association. He had retired from the SWAT Team of the Columbia Police Department after 24 years service. Sgt. Jackson joined the Columbia Police Department in August 1973 as a patrolman. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1993 and once named “Outstanding Officer of the Year.” Sgt. Jackson played a vital role in the Special Operations group as primary instructor and technical officer for the police department’s SWAT Teams and Civil Disturbance Training. A true patriot, he loved his country and enjoyed wood and leather working. He was a loving husband of 43 years and a loving uncle who loved to spoil his great-nephews.

Surviving are his wife of 43 years, Yone O. Jackson; brother, Donald Jackson of Alabama; sister, Toni Hesson of Florida; sister, Ann Anderson of Alabama; sister, Laura Colquitt of Wisconsin; nephew, Butch Jackson (Susan), nephew Bill Jackson, great-niece Meredith and great-nephew Hunter; nieces Tania Ruiz (John), Nicole Hickey (Dana), and Lisa Roberts; great-nieces Tabatha and Trinity Roberts and great-nephews Trevor Roberts and Logan Hickey; niece Anna Schrock (Brian), great-nephew Christian and great-niece Trinity; nephew, Nobuo Yamashiro (Dawn); great-nieces and nephews, Amy, Ken, Chris and Kyle Yamashiro, all of Irmo.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, 520 Gervais St., Suite 300, Columbia, SC 29201.

In Loving Memory of Aunt Cathy

We lost my Aunt Cathy a few weeks ago. This is obviously a belated post, but even though I've been MIA for a while I still wanted to honor her out here. We were blessed to hear from her friends at the funeral that she had rediscovered her relationship with God. That's really all you can ask in times like these - the comfort of knowing someone you love will live an eternity basking in the love of our Lord and Saviour.

This is the tribute layout I created for Aunt Cathy's memorial service.


Journaling:
Once we had a path
And the way to it was clear
Everything was sweet to us
Everything was dear

Then the days turn gray
We can’t see beyond the gloom
We wander here, we wander there,
Yet never seem to move

God works in different ways
He works throughout the night
He only needs our faith
To return us to the light

Time can only tell
For those who go astray
If they’ll ever come back home
If they’ll somehow find their way

We only need to cling
To what we know is right
And pray we make it home
Before the passing of the light

She walked this Earth with us for too short a time: August 22, 1942 – April 23, 2010

Remember to thank the Lord each morning for the beautiful people he puts in your life, no matter how short or long a time they are around.

In Loving Memory, Part II

Tio Cesar also passed away in November, leaving behind his wife, 3 sons, 3 daughter-in-laws, 4 grandchildren, and many other family members who mourned this loss. I've known Tio Cesar since 1990. He was one of the early visitors to the Ruiz residence after their move to Florida and I met him shortly after John and I started dating. Before Tia Blanca became ill Tio Cesar would visit Florida quite often, and both of them attended our wedding. The last time I saw him was in 2007 during a business trip to Bethesda.

Tio Cesar used to quiz me on my knowledge of the Spanish language - he was always encouraging me to practice, to become fluent, and it made him happy when I understood what he said to me in Spanish. More than once he got onto John for not taking more time to tutor me. He always welcomed me, as all of John's family always has, but I knew him to be a strict and serious man. When I saw him with Isabel, his first grandchild, it was like night and day. It's true, becoming a grandparent softens you in a way that nothing else can - he was absolutely wrapped around her little finger. The only picture I was able to take of him the last time I visited was one of him and Isabel. She's the only one he would pose with. After my visit I created a layout with that picture, shown here.

Credits:
Clustered Template by Tracy's Scraps
fabric papers, stitched word - "Fun Fabric" by Katie the Scrapbook Lady (some papers recolored)
quote - free gift from Katie the Scrapbook Lady

Thankfully in his younger years, though, he always joined in the pictures. Urania has plenty of pictures of him during his visits to Florida and those are the pictures I used in this memorial layout to honor his passing.

Credits:
kit - Dreamy Island by Ingeborg
Fonts – Clerica, Duvall

Rest in Peace, Tio Cesar. You are loved, and you are missed.

In Loving Memory, Part I

On Thanksgiving Day we lost my Aunt Demarious. I got the news when we were leaving the movie theater that evening. We attended her funeral in Valley, Alabama on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I will miss her, but even more I want to remember her.

Aunt Demarious was a strong but kind woman. Several years ago I created a layout on her for my "Portrait of Ladies" album that showcases the strong, loving, caring women in my family. Here's an excerpt of the journaling from that page, as it says just what I want to say about her:

"Aunt Demarious never pretended to be anyone other than who she is - a good ole down-home southern girl, loyal to her husband, friends and family, who is just as happy hunting and fishing as she is shopping and talking girl-talk. Over the years she remained true to herself, not compromising her beliefs or changing her language to be politically correct. If Aunt Demarious offends you by speaking her mind or telling the truth, well then that's just too bad, in her point of view. She doesn't sugarcoat and she doesn't beat around the bush.

"A strong woman with a booming voice, a fierce bear hug, and a witty comeback at the ready, Demarious Jackson carved a niche in our family that was uniquely her own. Born and raised in the Deep South, she is an Alabamian through and through, and proud of it. She seems fearless, plunging ahead into new business ventures and leisurely pursuits alike with unbridled enthusiasm.

"Aunt Demarious taught me that boys may be boys, but girls can play boys' games and excel at them. She taught me that it is more important to be true to yourself than it is to be popular. She taught me that showing a tough shell to the world doesn't mean you have to be hardened inside. She taught me that sometimes when you're dealing with boys, you just have to be a real tough cookie and never show fear. Over the years I haven't always know where I've stood in the line to Aunt Demarious heart, but during a recent visit, as we bid goodbye, she grabbed me to her famous bear hug and whispered "I love you, kid." It certainly meant the world to me to hear it from the women I've grown to love and respect."

Here's the layout that journaling comes from:

I was working on a hybrid mini-album, a Printable SANTA Word Album by Kay Eflin and Julie Mead. I decided to fill it with photos from the last Christmas celebration that we had with Aunt Demarious on the farm. It wasn't ever easy to get pictures of Aunt D, but I did get a few that day.

I love you, Aunt Demarious. Rest in Peace.