Farewell to my Uncle Don

My Uncle Don passed away on January 16th after a valiant battle with Alzheimer's.  Friday at noon we loaded up in the car and drove to Dallas for the Funeral Service. We wouldn't have missed it.  We wanted to be there for my Aunt Cheryl, my cousin Patrick and his family and to pay tribute to a fine gentleman.

Don was a true American success story and an inspiration.  He came from very humble beginnings, being born and raised in Ladonia, Texas.  I read on the Internet that Ladonia had a population of 635 people in the 2010 census.  I'm going to plagiarize some of this from the obituary that my cousin wrote: Don made a perfect score on the SAT in math and only missed one question on the English portion.  He got full scholarships to both Harvard and Rice, deciding on Rice due to the potential cost of winter clothes and traveling to Boston. 

He graduated from Rice with Honors and attended the University of Texas Medical School in Galveston.  Following graduation he moved to Dallas, for residency at Dallas Methodist and Parkland hospitals.  He then established a successful OB/GYN practice and in 1972 became one of the founding physicians of Medical City Dallas, serving in every leadership position there, including president.  Over his career, it is estimated that he delivered over 9,000 babies!

My uncle was such a successful person.  He was a really big deal, but he was so humble.  Because of his accomplishments, it would be easy to be very intimidated being around someone of such intellect.  But he was so humble, never taking himself serious, and was always interested in people.  He made you feel like the most important person in the room.

I will never forget in 1984, my Uncle Don and Aunt Cheryl (my Dad's sister) came to visit us in Kinder on the same weekend as my senior prom.  They had a brand spanking new Cadillac El Dorado that was loaded with every option imaginable.  I was all duded up for the prom with a white tux with tails, a top hat and cane, and Don offered to let me drive his fancy car to prom!  If I was in his shoes and knowing what a punk kid I was, I would have NEVER let me borrow that car.  But he did.  That was just the kind of guy he was - trusting, kind, sharing - a gentleman.

My Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Don

At the funeral, the church was absolutely packed with family and friends, a testament to how he was thought of.  The service was touching, the music beautiful.  At the reception following, two of his friends made fantastic speeches that were so emotional and tender.

In my last telephone conversation with Don on Christmas Eve, I was telling him that we had just bought 16 momma cows that were 5 months bred.  Even in the throes of his terrible illness, he had his great sense of humor, telling me that if we needed help, he had "a little experience" in labor and delivery!

I want to end with this.  One of the hymns in Don's service was one I had not heard before.  It is called The King of Love my Shepherd Is.  It was written in 1868 by Henry Baker based on the Welsh version of Psalm 23.  I found it on Youtube and have listened to it several times, amazed by its beauty.  You can listen to it by clicking the button below, but the lyrics of one of the verses is so fitting:

In death's dark vale I fear no ill

With thee, dear Lord, beside me;

Thy rod and staff my comfort still,

Thy cross before to guide me.

Farewell Uncle Don.  We will miss you!