Uncle Skipper
On Jan 4, 2022, I received a message from my cousins that I was dreading…..that my beloved and favorite Uncle Skipper had left us. It was truly a bitter sweet thing….My heart was broken because he had left us, but was happy because my father, Uncle Skip’s kid brother, would be re-united with his big brother.
As long as I can remember, Uncle Skip and Auntie Agnes have always been there. All my memories of Uncle Skip were happy ones. In my youth, whenever my parents told us we were going to see Uncle Skipper and Auntie Agnes (whether it was Chicago, Miami, or Cali), I remember being so excited. Plus, the gifts we would get from them were always the best! As I age, my memory is starting to fade, but fond memories of Uncle Skip continue to be clear as day……like the time when Uncle Skip took us to an amusement park which I loved to go. One of the rides was a car ride where kids could drive the car because there was a safety guide in the middle of the track that would not allow you to drive off the track. I was a small kid and could barely reach the gas pedal so Uncle Skip rode with me, and patiently watched me drive the vehicle. Apparently, I was going to slow as the car behind me kept bumping us from behind. After the second or third time, I remember Uncle looking back and unloading on the driver behind us; Told him that there was a little kid in this car and he had better knock it off! I remember looking at him in awe as it was so cool to see him stand up to that person. I can tell you that dude didn’t come near us after the drive! Another memory I have is going to Miami with Uncle and Auntie and staying with them at their house. After some time, I started getting homesick and remember both Uncle Skip and Auntie trying to comfort me. Ultimately, it was decided to send me home on an airplane but I was too terrified to ride the plane alone. I remember Uncle trying to convince me that there was nothing to be afraid of, but I was not to going to go alone. Uncle Skip finally bought two tickets, one for me and one for himself and flew back to St. Louis with me. When I saw my parents and brother, I was so happy to see them, but I noticed that Uncle Skip had turned around and left to get back on the plane to fly back. I immediately started feeling sad, and later that night, I started to cry because I missed my Uncle Skip.
Uncle Skip was a tough, hardworking man, but was compassionate as well. He was a “sink or swim” type of person…..literally as he tried to teach me how to swim and I sunk ….but I did finally learn. We often talked about his Koi pond which he built completely by himself. I would stack that pond against any professionally built pond out there. He was a man of many talents, skill, and perseverance. I’m sure everyone heard this, but he told me that one headache he had was the pesky raccoons that would come to the pond and take his fish. So he set up a trap and caught the critter. Turns out the raccoon was a mother raccoon with three or four baby raccoons. When he went out there, he could see the baby raccoons trying to help the mother raccoon and wailing while trying to get their mother out. Uncle had called the pest control folks who were on there way to get rid of the raccoon, but he couldn’t take the baby raccoons wailing anymore and went out and freed the mother and called off the animal control folks. While I harbor no fondness for raccoons, I always thought that was a cool thing to do.
I will miss my favorite Uncle tremendously. I will miss his laugh, our conversations, and his presence. Rest In Peace Uncle Skip.
To my Auntie Agnes, stay strong, you have always been a pillar. To my cousins, Eileen, Julie, and Eric, take care of yourselves and each other and watch over Auntie.
With much love,
Hans