Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Wistful Wednesday: Cousin Lyle

My cousin Lyle died last week.  Lyle was the third son of my Uncle Andrew and Aunt Joan.  They would have three more children later…for a total of six.  My Aunt Joan died in 1987 and my Uncle Andrew in 1997.
Joan and Andrew
Aunt Joan and Uncle Andrew
Before my Uncle Andrew got married he lived with us, and he worked construction with my Dad.  Anyways…then he got married. ( I was heartbroken that he didn’t pick a gorgeous blonde to marry….but no one would have been perfect for him in my eyes.)

When Lyle was little they lived at the edge of Ponsford in a house way in the back.  ( Mary Ann my Aunt Joan’s sister lived on that property most recently but now she is gone too.)  Anyways…Lyle suffered some brain damage…from a plastic bib or a dry cleaners bag…depending on what version of the story you recall, I have heard both.   Shortly after that incident they moved to the farm kitty corner from us…on Far Guy’s Maternal Grandparent’s old farm. 

Lyle was just a little younger than my other baby brother Jody.  Lyle’s speech was damaged by the lack of oxygen, he was hard to understand. It was frustrating for him.  He was in the Special Education class in School…I think he was mainstreamed a few times…and he graduated from High School. 

Lyle was a farmer and a fisherman, he often stopped by with his Dad for coffee after a day of fishing in the winter. My Uncle took good care of him, then my Uncle died…Lyle lived on the farm with his brother Mark ( they called it a bachelor pad), when Mark died Lyle went to live with another brother.  Eventually Lyle entered the nursing home…that is where he was when he got pneumonia and was taken to the Emergency Room and died in Intensive Care.

I remember how he struggled when he was little to keep up with the other kids his age,  I remember when he was older and the Doctors told him he had to walk…you would see him walking back and forth on the dirt road east of the farm.   He loved the farm but he was wary of all animals.  He didn’t like my dogs at all.

I had 46 cousins on that side of my family, 5 are gone that leaves 41 of us. Leonard died in 1958 he was 15 years old, Randolph died in 1961 he was just 36 days old, Mark in 2008 he was 49 years old, Rosemarie or “Rosie” died in 2012 she was 41 years old and now Lyle in 2016 at the age of 54.
Connie Carey Lyle April 12 1991 (2)
Me, my baby brother and cousin Lyle
April 12, 1991.
The photo was taken at my parents resort on the north end of the lake, my baby brother flew in for my Uncle Arnold’s Funeral.  We were gathered for coffee later that day or the next, Uncle Andrew was there with Lyle when someone said “take a photo of the cousins.”

I am sad, I think that is normal when a relative younger than you dies.  I can only imagine how happy my Uncle Andrew, Aunt Joan, Mark and Rosie were to see him again.  Half their children are left on earth and half of them are in heaven.
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21 comments:

Lynda said...

What a sweet tribute to a cousin you all loved. It also sounds like the family was good to provide him as much quality of life as possible. He was fortunate to have them all close as well as responsible and caring.

linda m said...

So sorry for your loss. You wrote him a nice tribute.

DJan said...

I know what you mean about having someone in your family younger than you pass. It just seems wrong somehow. You did write him a very fitting tribute. And such a large family! :-)

Jenn Jilks said...

It's good to get together for these celebrations...

Still the Lucky Few said...

I had a quiet moment when I read this tribute to your family. So touching, and wistful! Thanks for posting this.

Linda W. said...

Sorry to hear about your cousin.

Gail said...

It is sad but there will be a great reunion.

Karen said...

A nice tribute. Sounds like he had a bit of a tough go. Way too young for sure. You know you are getting to that age when you first start to read the obits, and then it starts to get scary when you see a lot of deaths that are around your age or younger. So sad.

Red said...

Okay, when I was smart enough to go back and read he title the post made good sense. It's sad that some people suffer handicaps but they struggle and survive. He was well loved.

Country Gal said...

A lovely tribute to your family , but oh my all so to young to be passing . It gets to real and scary when we loose so many of our loved ones and I find the older I am getting the more I see how precious each day of life is ! Thanks for sharing , have a good day !

Rita said...

So sad when people die early. 40s and 50s still seems so very early.
We just never know when our time will come. Just have to be grateful for whatever time we have.

Lynn Hasty said...

What a bittersweet story. I'm so sorry for your loss!
xo
Lynn

Anonymous said...

Such a tough road for Lyle. I was struck by the young ages of the cousins at the time of their passing, though. So sorry he had to deal with pneumonia. My condolences to you.

Linda Kay said...

It must be the season, as this is the second blog obituary I've seen this afternoon. Both have been lovely tributes to a departed loved one.

Harriet said...

My fathers-in-law name was Lyle, a very old name. Connie I so appreciate your family story telling. For those of us who the last, it is so lovely to know someone somewhere is remembering everyone.

Granny Marigold said...

I'm sorry for the loss of your cousin. 54 seems way too young to die. It's great how he had family to care for him for most of his life.

Linda Reeder said...

It's remarkable how involved I became in this story while reading it. You have a large and interesting family. I'm sorry for your loss.

Buttons Thoughts said...

I am so sorry about your cousin Lyle. Too young. Hugs B

Anonymous said...

Thank you Connie for the wonderful story of Lyle he was good to talk to. Who was Randolph?

Anonymous said...

sorry for got to leave name, Cousin Geraldine

Far Side of Fifty said...

Aunt Anna and Uncle Stanley's firstborn.