A Farewell to Ad

My old uncle Addy passed away last week. He was 91 years old, and the last living sibling of my maternal grandmother. I hadn't seen him in at least two years. I wish now that I had more of an effort to keep in touch over the years. My earliest memories of uncle Ad are from my childhood years in Burnaby. He lived on Duthie Street, right behind my grandparents place on Yorston Court. Looking back now I know that uncle Ad wasn't really all that old at the time, but to me he never appeared to get any older than he was in my childhood, maybe just a little more fragile with the passing of the years. When my brothers and I were young, uncle Ad was something of a favourite with us, probably because every Christmas he would make us an absolutely fabulous gingerbread house loaded with candy. During the summer, we'd sneak through the gate at the back of the garden and visit him -he always seemed to have lime popsicles in the freezer. I hadn't seen very much of uncle Ad in recent years. He and aunt Margaret had long since moved from their Duthie street home (which, like many other older homes in the area was torn down and replaced by a much bigger house). I did visit occasionally, and once they made the long trek out to Deroche to visit us. I was always struck by just how much he looked like my grandmother -perhaps another reason why I was fond of him. I wish I had gotten to know him better as an adult -that is to say when I became an adult, and not just as a figure from my childhood. I know I will miss him, as he was the final connection to that generation of my family
Sadly "Bad Geordie" has eaten the cord to my scanner, so a photo of uncle Ad will just have to wait until I can justify spending my money on such a trivial thing. He's also eaten the cord for my camera, various bits of clothing (he favours socks), the rug, his dog bed, a rather pricey (and might I add, brand new) pair of runners...