A great guy

A couple weeks ago I got some very sad news, my uncle Bob passed away. He was 74, but it was still quite a shock for the family. I've always felt very close to him, as well as my other uncle on that side of the family, Dave. And even though we are so far away, it was important for me to go out for the funeral. So, I hopped on a plane for Seattle and spent the weekend with my family up in Mount Vernon.

Since as long as I can remember, I have been a loyal Seahawks fan and that is because of my uncle. He was a sports enthusiast and the Seahawks were his team. He had a knack of remembering every fact & figure of the game, which always amazed me! As kids we would usually visit in the summer and he used to take me & my brother to Mariner's games religiously. So now do you see why I'm so loyal to the Seattle teams? :)

He also had a passion for teaching and taught high school history & economics for more than 30 years. He also coached football, wrestling, and baseball. He was a very popular teacher & coach, and I can see why... he was a warm & caring guy with a friendly smile and infectious laugh. I had the chance to meet some of his colleagues and students and it was very apparent how much he was loved. I remember when I was in high school walking through the local mall in Mount Vernon with my uncle and having an endless stream of students greeting us with "Hi Coach!"

I'm really happy I was able to head up to Seattle last year to see him just before we moved out to Geneva. And even though I only saw him a couple times a year when I was living back home, I will really miss him. But I have many wonderful memories, like sneaking black olives off the table before Christmas dinners when I was a kid, day trips to Seattle or closer towns like Anacortes, and dinners at my grandparent’s house in Everett. I'm really lucky to have had an uncle that was such a great guy and brought so much joy to the people around him.