He also had an uncle, John, the only son born among 7 to his mother's family. My father idolized his uncle and couldn't tell a story about him without tearing up. He didn't have children of his own so he likely had a little extra money and was quick to give it to my dad - $50 to mow the grass (in the 1950's!) and brought him to the Red Sox game on Patriot's Day every year. My father described him as always handsomely dressed and kind. Like my dad, he enjoyed some gambling, and in his later years he'd tell me, "I wished he lived long enough so I could take care of him. These days, when I drive to the casino, I like to think he's in the passenger seat with me and I'd give him a few hundred to have fun." When his uncle passed, the wake was full of people repaying his sisters for the money he had lent to them. Times were different, people didn't have credit and to know a guy willing to lend you some money was important. He lent it in good faith. As he was well loved by so many, they returned the money to his unknowing sisters even upon his death. A wonderful story that brought my father to tears every time he told it. I'm sure he was the first person he saw when he arrived to the gates of heaven.
"“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
