Uncle Jimmy

April 1, 1931

August 26, 2023

We said goodbye to Jimmy at the end of August. He was 92 years old. He had lived in the same house for 85 years before we had to move him because he had Alzheimer's. The last 4 years, he has lived here close to us in a retirement home. He was always such a welcoming uncle to his nieces and nephews. Each of them has special memories of times spent with him. We visited him many times through the years, with our little kids along with us and he never seemed to mind having the commotion to his normally very quiet life. And every time we said goodbye, he would say..."so soon?" 

He was a homebody, never wanting to leave his town of Oxnard, or more like it, his home. If he left for an errand, it was get the errand done and get back home to his chair and TV. 

He loved football, played it in high school and watched it on TV every chance he had. He was in the Navy. He was a carpenter and a handyman. He was a bachelor. He was frugal, but generous to us all. 

Two days before he passed, I asked him if he was ready to go to heaven. He opened his eyes and looked at the photo of Granny on the wall and whispered "not ready yet". We smiled, not ready to say goodbye, as always.

But the last day I was there, I told him I was going to leave, but would be back later on. He squeezed my hand. In the strongest voice I had heard in a couple of weeks, he said "BYE BYE!"

He passed a couple of hours later before I could get back to him.

Bye, Bye, Jimmy!