Honoring Uncle Jim

My Uncle Jim was dying at home, and my Aunt Lorraine asked my mother and me to stay overnight with her because she felt the time was close. We helped her change his pajamas that night, and when she told him “I love you,” he responded with his own “I love you.” We said goodnight, and she tucked herself in with him as she always had. I slept in their living room, and at 3 a.m., my aunt came to me and said that she thought he had passed and would I come into their room because she wasn’t sure. I told her he had left his body, and it was sweet to see him in just the exact same position he had when we tucked him in. We woke my mother and spent the next few hours in the kitchen talking about our dear Uncle. He was the most perfect gentleman and had lived his values honorably.

As we talked, my aunt mentioned that she wanted him to be buried in one of my caskets. I had painted some nice wooden coffins. She and my uncle had always chosen very usual things in regard to their belongings, and I was surprised that this was her choice now. She wanted me to add a painting of the plane he flew during WW1 to the coffin. I always tried to leave some place for something personal on a coffin, but this one was special because I had tried over and over to find what would complete the design in that spot and failed. Finally, I left the area blank, and now the placement of the plane was more perfect than I could have planned. During those long-ago flying missions, my uncle had suffered from frostbite and lost some sensation as a result, but he regarded his service as a gift he gave to the world. His three sons, coming from a distance, saw his coffin for the first time at the funeral service and thanked me deeply. I was grateful to have been a part of his tribute.

-Denise Baxter