Charles Edward Thompson : Nov 20, 1918 - June 20, 2011

My Uncle Ed passed away in his chair sometime between yesterday and this morning. 

I called him a little over a week ago to talk.  I remember saying to Loni and my boys he wasn't himself in that phone call.  He was always calling me and telling me I needed to sell the house, etc.  In our last conversation he told me he was glad I had the house and that it would serve me well in the future.  That was a drastic change.

He liked Raymond.  He came to our wedding and then we saw him again sometime in the 2000-2001 range.  He came to visit us here at the house.  We all went out to dinner and Raymond drove him to see where he worked.

Uncle Ed was a pilot in WWII and often flew to see us when we lived in KY when I was growing up.  He was always trying to get me to go up in his plane with him, but I wouldn't do it.  Just didn't seem big enough. 

When I was small and living in Dayton I remember that wen he would come to town it was a big deal.  My first memory of him was when he went to Grandma's house and we went to see him there.  He and his second wife, Ann, had some kind of very large, tall dog.  He let me ride the dog like a pony up and down the street.  I thought that was grand.  

All my other memories of him are from when we would visit our house.  I remember he liked how I made coffee in my mom's old coffee pot that percolated.  I  would make him pot after pot.  

Another time he came to KY and he and I went to see my other Uncle Marion Hall in Harrodsburg, KY.  It was just the two of us.  I think I was already in college or had graduated.  I even think he let me drive because I knew the way. Those details are hazy, but what is clear is that he treated me like an adult and I appreciated it very much. 

Uncle Ed "had money."  I never understood what that meant when I was little.  It wasn't until I was in high school that I understood.  

I do know he was always kind to me.  He usually gave me money when he left town, $25.00 here, $50.00, up to $100.00.  I usually used it to buy clothes.  I remember one set of clothes I bought in high school with the funds he had given me.  It was pink.  (Yes, I hate pink now, but I wore a lot of it back then.)  

When Raymond and I got married he gave us $500.00.  Raymond and I were so blessed to get that money.  I don't know what we would have done without it when we moved to TX.  It helped us set up our household and buy food for the apartment.  

Uncle Ed called me when Raymond died.  He was very upset.  It wasn't long after that call that I received a card with a very large check.  Now I had not told Uncle Ed about the water heater catching on fire and that I had to replace it, or about any of the other issues that had popped up.  I guess he just knew from losing Ann that expenses come before the money arrives.  His generosity made my life a lot easier those first few weeks after Raymond died. 

It really made some people in the family mad that he was so generous with me.  I always thought he was so generous with me because I really didn't care that he had money.  I would sit around at family gatherings and listen to relatives hint at things he should pay for, or invest in, etc.  I was just happy to take a walk with him, or sit at the table and pour him coffee while he told stories.  It made no difference to me about his money.  Yes, I appreciated all he did for me and his thoughtfulness, but I never expected it nor did I ask for anything from him.  

Uncle Ed loved my boys, even though he only met them once.  He would call me and sometimes spend the entire conversation asking me about them and what they were doing in school. 

He made me laugh with his jokes.  He irritated me with his insistence I sell my house.  He loved my family.  We loved him. 

I miss him already.  

RIP Uncle Ed. Say "hi" to Raymond and the rest of the family for me.  

Love you.