Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Uncle Marion was always a quiet man, who gave us an example of what it means to be a good father, grandfather, and friend. He would be in the house or walking around having conversations with people at the party. He was welcoming of you in his home. When I would stop sometimes on trips up and down I-75 at his house, it was always worth it, even if we just sat around and watched the news on TV with his dog Toby sitting there. He’d offer wine or a snack like cookies. It was just a good quiet time to relax and feel like you were accomplishing something by visiting someone. We know he lived a good and long life, one with few or no regrets. As he aged and grew older and slowed down, we sought to hang onto him even more. He is the last of the Aunts or Uncles in my family. The last of what some call the greatest generation, those that lived through WWII. We can take some joy knowing that he is now reunited with his wife Mary who passed 15 years ago, and many many friends and family that have passed before him
A random thought that occurred to me, because we don't know how our current choices affect the future of so many. Many of us will be at the services tonight & tomorrow probably because of one decision Uncle Marion and Aunt Mary made so many years ago - the decision to buy their home off of Sibley road. With its spacious backyard it would become the location of the annual summer party which hundreds, likely more than a thousand different people attended over the years. Some may have attended only one party, others maybe nearly every year over many years. The decision to start the party came from their children John and Gina, when their parents weren't home, out of town in Poland I believe. Of course the invite list grew each year to include more and more friends and family. All will remember the cooking, the bands, the bonfire, singing, musical instruments, games, and Jeep rides through the woods in the back of the house. It was a once a year event to see family and friends.
This is all part of what Uncle Marion inadvertently started with his decision to purchase a home with some land behind it for his family so many years ago. And he loved his home and the land. He worked so hard in his younger years. My mom told me she remembers when she was a young girl going over there and seeing him digging a well on his property and other great feats of physical labor. Marion was a true handyman to the core, traits passed onto his children and grandchildren, especially John who became an engineer for Ford. They worked on so many projects together, installing stuff in the garages and sheds and around the home. John’s friends too I remember working on the Jeep and other projects with him. I believe Joanna, Jessica and Maryann all learned to drive, by driving the manual transmission Jeep on their grandpa’s property. They drove the tractor too to mow the lawn and carry stuff around.
I believe the high school graduating party for Joanna was essentially the Summer Party with many of her high school friends in attendance. Jessica’s too. Maryann just graduated high school this year, and I remember Uncle Marion saying once that he wanted to live just long enough to see her turn 16 years old and drive, which he got to do. Everyone in the community of Grosse Ile high school probably knows or remembers the Summer party when they pass by the house. They remember it as Joanna, Jessica and Maryann’s grandpa’s home. How many of us can remember a classmates grandparents home! Only a few could. These memories will live on for a long time in the community of Riverview, Brownstown, Grosse Ile
