In February of 1996 Jan and I attended a Rural Water Conference in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. On that particular weekend we went to church with and visited Uncle John and Miss Vivian who were living in the area.
This past week we made the trip back down to Georgia with my parents. We had the privilege of getting a look into the lives of Uncle John who passed away in 2010 and Miss Vivian who passed away in 2015.
My Mom was to go to the courthouse to be sworn in as Trustee of Miss Vivian's estate. Her job is to carry out the wishes of the will. We were also to meet with folks who were hired to disperse of Miss Vivian's earthly possessions.
Aunt Marge was my Mom's sister. She married Uncle John and they lived in Michigan. She passed away about 20 years ago.
We found this sewing machine in Uncle John's stuff in the basement. We are quite sure it was Aunt Marge's and according to pictures we are pretty sure it first belonged to my Grandma Rus. It works perfectly.
Uncle John was born and grew up in the Detroit area. He and Aunt Marge never had any children.
Uncle John's father worked for Henry Ford way back when. While going through Uncle John's stuff we found his parent's 50th wedding anniversary invitation and the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Ford had attended.
Uncle John was in the military during World War 2 and served in the South Pacific. We found his honorary flag and his knife.
I always thought of Uncle John as kind of a combination between a scientist and a mechanic. He wore a long white coat at work. He still holds 4 patents in the mechanical area of car starters and automatic transmissions. He worked in the Detroit area all his working life. Below is an award we found he was given.
I have told you the story before of my Ponderosa Christmas when there weren't going to be any presents. When I woke up Christmas morning at 9 years old there were presents under the tree. Uncle John and Aunt Marge had come to visit and brought along used toys for the kids and a rifle for my Dad.
I always remember before their visits we would have to dig out the seatbelts from under the car seats because Uncle John insisted we wear seat belts. We barely knew what seat belts were. Being from Detroit he also insisted we always pull the car keys after every stop. Our families car keys had never even been out of the ignition before. He also insisted us kids wear helmets when riding our bikes. We had no helmets.
After Aunt Marge died Uncle John met Miss Vivian while visiting the nursing home where she was visiting her dying husband. She and her first husband had no children either. Uncle John and Miss Vivian were married some time later and moved to Georgia.
Miss Vivian was quite the lady of English descendant. She loved collecting things. She had over 200 dolls, many porcelain from England. She had a collection of close to 40 hat pins from the turn of the century.
This is a goat wagon from the late 1800s. Her home looked like it was straight out of an antique road show.
Her dishes including shelves full of delft were from all over the world and covered tables in 3 rooms after the cupboards were emptied.
In Georgia household disbursements are done by tag sales. Someone is hired for a percentage, usually a third or more, to identify and tag every item in the house. Then over a period of 4 or 5 days folks are welcome to come and go through the house and buy what they choose. The price drops every day on what isn't sold, and by the last day the prices are very reasonable and the goal is to have an empty house.
Since Mom was the trustee we were welcome to buy early anything we wanted. Below Dad is dickering with Gordon. Sonny is watching. They were the men hired to have the tag sale.
Mom and Dad as well as Jan and I enjoyed buying things that had sentimental value or interested us. Our trailer was full on the way home.
What an interesting experience and what a privilege to get to better know Uncle John and Miss Vivian by records, books, pictures, and things they valued throughout their life times.
Miss Vivian was an outgoing, generous, and on-the-go lady who always had a plan and knew how to carry it out.
She not only loved to collect things she loved music and played the organ for church for 70 years. There were two organs and an electronic keyboard in her home.
What about you? What will folks find going through your stuff after you're gone? Will they be able to read your heart and know what's important to you by what you do or don't leave behind?
Will there be any unfinished business in your home? What will your bank statement show you valued? Do the folks you leave behind know you love them?
You know in all the funerals I've attended I have yet to see a U-Haul trailer behind a hearse. We can't take it with us.
As we headed on our homeward stretch I was reminded of what a blessing children and grandchildren are. People to love. People to leave our legacy to. Make it your goal this week to let those folks know you love them and appreciate them.
Finally it's not in our control how long we are here on earth or how we leave. However it is in our control that while we're here we finish strong. In most cases finishing strong includes others and an interest in their lives. Blessings.
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