Essay about My Great Uncle

My great-grandmother was raised by her mom, dad, and other relatives. She, and many cousins, were raised up as brother and sister in a close-knit family. Harriett Marshall, my great-grandmother, was born in Saltillo, Tennessee on January 7, 1931. She has lived through many trying times. It is a blessing to live through so many events that changed the nation, even the world. She has lived through the following events and many more: The Great Depression, World War II, the historic signing of Jackie Robinson, Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights movement and many more.

He had a big, deep voice, and thinning gray hair. His eyes were big and friendly. He was in no way a fancy man. He used to live in Brooklyn, and even among all of the designer outfits, he always preferred a simple t-shirt and sweatpants with a pair of worker’s boots. He lived his life however he wanted, even if it would embarrass those around him. No matter, he was a loving man, and he always had time for his family. He was never too busy with work or his social life to relax with us for a little while. These traits all came together to give him a lively, impish, and extremely loving personality. They made him my Grandpa.

The story Uncle Marcos is about a girl named Clara and her uncle's relationship and of Uncle Marcos's past. Clara hasn't seen her Uncle for two years but still remembers a perfect image of her Uncle Marcos. She retained an image of him since her childhood and every time she wants to see him she would close her eyes instead of looking at the old photograph they had in the drawing room. He was buried in the middle of the courtyard in a long black coffin. Uncle Marcos would come to his sister's house for several months to enjoy time with his nieces and nephews, but mostly Clara is who enjoyed the most.

With white whiskers on his face, even after his morning shave, and the noticeable balding, my grandfather always looked comparable to a gruff man. You could tell he was strong and had a lot of pride by the way he carried himself. Being more of a cowboy type, he dutifully wore a plaid button-up shirt, bootlegged jeans, and country-style boots to match on the average day. He was a diligent man, and although his job kept him away from the home most of the weekdays driving semi-truck across the country, living on the farm he seemed to constantly be keeping himself busy doing something with his time off from feeding the horses, tending to the garden, riding four-wheeler, finding odd jobs here and there, and regularly playing with all of us kids.

My grandfather, Lieutenant Colonel Wayne Raab, served in the US Air Force for 27 years. He married the love of his life, Marie Raab, on November 12, 1961. They had one child together, my mom. After my grandpa retired from the Air Force he worked at a paper making company in Sumter, South Carolina. Instead of having flowers in the middle of the dining room table there would be a beer bottle full of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. He would put that sauce on everything, he called it his “magic juice”. My grandparents had a fig tree in their backyard that my grandpa would give a splash of his “magic juice” to everyday because he said it gives the figs a little extra flavor when they are ripe. He brewed his own beer out of a shed in his backyard. And in 2010 he was diagnosed with Parkinson 's Disease.

He was amazing as he drove until he was 99 years old and the DMV would no longer renew his license. More astounding is that he worked until he was 96 years old for a Ford dealership selling cars. The day he was laid off he called his son and cried on the phone about being laid off, his son laughed, when the older man asked why he was laughing his son stated because its not everyday you have to comfort your dad over a lost job when i've been retired for years. I love telling this story because I truly commend the Ford dealership for allowing this man to continue his passion for work well past his retirement age, it was what he loved and they let him continue without trying to mold him into the next generation.I also cared for a women who retired early then at 94 years old decided to enter the workforce again. She got a job at a local grocery store giving away samples, once her true age was revealed she was let go due to insurance reasons. Though the company tried to look past her age the insurance company would not.

He was hard working, honest, and the smartest man I've ever met. In 94 years, i can assure you, he never broke a promise, never let someone down, and absolutely never disappointed his family name. Gramp excelled in an era in which nothing was done for you, there were no computers, and internet. An era in which you had to absorb, listen, and learn, something he was particularly good at. He was successful at everything, especially while at the helm of his trucking and logging company for over 50 years. One of the most demanding industries there is in our area, an industry that was constantly changing, and he never missed a beat. Gramp was always ahead of the curve, the best of the best, and a pioneer in his industry, and he took pride in that.

Have you ever had a hero in your life, someone that is always there for you when you need them? I did, I called him "my dad." My dad was the only person that could make me laugh when I was feeling down. My dad was that person who had so much love for his family. My dad was the person who I could call and he'd always pick up. My dad was the person who would drop everything just to help me. My dad was the biggest hero in my life and to this day, still is.

I have an abundance of grotesque, yet, barely visible memories of childhood. However, no breathtaking family trips, no unique family togetherness that taught a moral lesson, no abnormal holidays. We still ate family meals together, but most often the children and adults lived in different worlds. When I needed comforting or wanted the best of both worlds, I could turn to my Grandpa.

Family history is very important to an individual. By knowing where you come from, you can have a better perspective of your life. Having a clear understanding of your family background allows you to better appreciate the things that you would normally take for granted. The house, the car, and the average clothing may look better when one sees the sacrifices their family has made. They will see that their family has worked very hard just so their family can experience the better things in life. A persons roots and origin is one of the most important things to explore. It alone can bring you closer to self-discovery.

February twenty-third 2010 was just a regular ordinary day. I was on my way to class on this cold February afternoon, when my phone rung. It was my cousin on the other end telling me to call my mom. I could not figure out what was wrong, so I quickly said okay and I hung up and called my mom. When my mom answered the phone I told her the message but I said I do not know what is wrong. My mom was at work and could not call right away, so I took the effort to call my cousin back to see what was going on. She told me that our uncle was in the hospital and that it did not look good. Starting to tear up I pull over in a fast food restaurant parking lot to listen to more to what my cousin had to say. She then tells me to tell my mom to get to

The crunch of frozen grass could be heard a mile away at five o’clock in the morning. My grandpa and I whispered conversation as we strolled over to our favorite deer blind. We cautiously marched over sticks trying hard not to make any sounds. We eventually made it without spooking any deer and set our guns down, waiting for sunrise. These are the times I enjoy the most with my grandpa. It is a chance to sit back and enjoy life with one of my favorite people on this planet. Time goes slower in these moments. It gives us a chance to share conversation about anything. We swap stories from the past and I always seem to learn something new from my grandpa. Whether it be from advice he gives me or from an experience long ago, I’m always listening. Although our experiences may be different we still love to enjoy the same hobbies together, whether it’s woodworking, hunting, or time out on the lake; sharing life with my grandpa is priceless.

Once, in the first week following his passing, I came through my front door and looked at the area where he would usually be sitting or lying. I called for him with the foolish notation that he would appear and come running to me. But of course, he did not. Then, I walked past his empty food bowls and tears started running down my face. It was a shattering reminder that he was gone and never coming back.

I think the person who has had the most profound effect on my life besides my parents is my grandfather. I never realized before how much of an effect he had on my interests and goals for the future. Years ago, he used to tell me stories about historical events and experiences he had fighting in Vietnam and my great grandfather fighting in World War 2. His vivid descriptions always made it so interesting and, in some cases, more light-hearted than what actually happened. To this day he still has more stories to tell me, and never fails to captivate my interest. In doing this, he opened my eyes to my biggest interest, history, and encouraged me to pursue this interest throughout school. I feel like it would help to give a short summary of his life and how it affected me.

As a toddler, I spent my time living with my grandparents and my mother in Honduras. My father had moved to the United States just a few months after I was born. My mother would work during the day and my uncle's wife would baby sit me. I was still quite young and all I knew was that my father moved because he wanted to provide the best he could for his family. I lived in a house where not only my mother and I resided, we shared a home with four of my cousins, two of my uncles, and their wives. Everything I received at that age came from what my dad sent my mom and the rest of his family and what my mom earned. In 2004, months after my 4th birthday, my mother told me we were finally going to be reunited with my dad. I was of course