My sweet Uncle Lynn

A few weeks ago my mother called me with the horrible news that my Uncle Lynn had been killed in a car accident. This news was difficult to take as I dearly love my Uncle Lynn and his death was so unexpected. I have gone through many of the grieving emotions of sorrow, denial, anger, fear, and guilt. I wish I would have called him more often, I wish I would have told him how I felt about him more. I wish I would have shared with him more my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wish I would have spent more time laying out and reading magazines with him, playing rummi, or shopping with him (as those were his favorite things to do).

I am writing this blog to share with everyone the things I love about my Uncle Lynn and the many things he has taught me over the years. I love how kind and nonjudgmental he is to everyone he meets. I love how generous he is with his time and his money. Whenever I saw him he was always trying to get me something I liked or take me to do something he knew I would enjoy. I love how competitive he got when playing games on Sunday evenings. I love how he drove his red Cadillac like he was in his twenties again.

There are so many things I love about this man, but the thing that has most influenced me is how he loves and serves others. My Uncle Lynn absolutely adored his wife Pat. He thought she was the most beautiful, wonderful person. And he treated her like that everyday. He loved to cook for her, clean for her, buy her little surprises, read to her, and everything else you could imagine. Pat became ill many years ago and he cared for her and treated her like royalty every step of the way. This man taught me what it means to love. He taught me what it means to forget yourself and love another unconditionally. I will forever be grateful for his example of how to love and serve another. I hope to someday marry someone whom I adore as much as he adored Pat. I hope to someday serve and love my spouse with the same intensity and gentleness that he did.

I hope you know Uncle Lynn that I was watching. I was constantly learning from your example and I hope to love as you have loved.

(I will post a picture of this darling man as soon as I can get an electronic copy.)