Eddie - or Uncle Eddie - as Shirley called him was her mother's only brother. Born in 1939, he grew up with six sisters. Two other siblings died from diphtheria when they were little. In recent months, Eddie had been battling lung cancer but his demise was not really long and drawn out. He drifted away at the end of April.
I liked Eddie and always enjoyed talking with him. He showed interest in others be they high and mighty or lowly serfs. He himself had no academic qualifications to his name. He worked in farming and farm machinery and later at a big brick and tile works east of Doncaster. I don't know exactly what he did there but it did not matter because I liked him for he was - not for how he earned money.
Eddie was mischievous and had a sparkle in his eye. A lifelong football fan, he supported Scunthorpe United but whenever he saw me we would first talk about how Hull City were doing for he could easily relate to my club allegiance.
He had two daughters and two marriages. Though his first marriage disintegrated, his second marriage to a nice woman called Carol was very happy and long-lasting. He embraced Carol's daughter as though she were his own child.
The vicar did a fine job of researching the warm eulogy that Eddie deserved. There was the singing of three well-known hymns - "We plough the fields and scatter", "He who would valiant be" and "Jerusalem". Then there was the "commital" at the church door where the coffin waited before being driven to Scunthorpe for cremation.
The image of the commital will remain with me. The vicar in his ceremonial robes looking back into the church and behind him the sunlit greenery of Maytime. In front of him the polished beechwood coffin with a simple wreath of roses on top, then Eddie's immediate family. His daughters, his remaining sister, his wife and his grandchildren.
That sounds like a fitting service for Uncle Eddie. I like people with a twinkle in their eye and an interest in other people, as you described him.
ReplyDeleteHe never lost his boyhood mischief.
DeleteNice sendoff for a nice guy. Eddie looks like the pleasant fellow you described, his family will miss him.
ReplyDeleteThey will indeed. He loved them all entirely.
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ReplyDeleteI don't know how to type emojis.
DeleteI'm sorry for your loss. It's good to take time to consider the person and who they were.
ReplyDeleteHe was the best of us.
DeleteSounds like a very good sendoff indeed for someone who lived his life well.
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine Eddie ever suffering from depression but maybe when he split up with his first wife there would have been a low period.
DeleteIt does sound like a lovely service for a lovely man.
ReplyDeleteThe service was very fitting.
DeleteSounds like it was a moving, meaningful service.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best I have attended. I wish I could have snapped a picture of the commital in that sunny doorway.
DeleteEddie died about the average age for men but still very sad for all, I am sure.
ReplyDeleteAs they say in cricket, 85 is a good innings.
DeleteEddie sounds a good man, Shirley was probably glad to have him in the family. The photo is well chosen, fitting in with the description you gave of him.
ReplyDeleteA funeral service, in spite of the sadness and grief, can be a beautiful event for the people left behind, as your account shows.
Shirley has a large extended family and I cannot always remember their names but Eddie always made me feel welcomed.
DeleteA good service in an old church is very respectful for everyone. It is sad you could not take a picture, but there again some things are sacrosanct.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Eddie was a good decent man.
ReplyDeleteRIP
A touching memorial.
ReplyDelete"Jerusalem" is a wonderful hymn.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Eddie had a good and long life and a fitting service to send him off. Glad you and Shirley could be there.
ReplyDeleteHe sounds like a lovely man. RIP Eddie.
ReplyDeleteThere were people with the surnames beginning with an A from the Trent area at GGS - e.g. a girl in my class called Jill.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good man who was appreciated by many.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to be without such a much loved family member. My condolences to Shirley and the family.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful send-off to Eddie and I also enjoyed your Fragments of childhood entries... beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteBonnie in Minneapolis
sounds like a good do..... fittingly the scene feels full of life and rebirth.... sort of thing we all hope for?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like he had a mostly happy life and a beautiful goodbye to loved ones.
ReplyDeleteSorry about Eddie.
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