As most of you know, Harry Green passed away recently. He is our uncle and will always be remembered as having a quick wit and patient understanding. My most dominant memory of he and Aunt Mary was when our father died. As a very young 16 year old girl, I felt the responsibility to be the "strong" one and held my emotions tight. When Harry and Mary arrived at our house in Lubbock, Mary insisted that I come into my room by myself with her and she held me until I began to cry and let all of my emotions flow.
Uncle Harry calmly came to our rescue when we were a young family just moving to Lefors, Texas. We enrolled our two daughters into the local school. Susie was in elementary school and Vicki a 7th grader in the Junior High School. Not long into our stay Vicki was invited to a slumber party. As Vicki is, and always will be shy, I urged her to go and get to know the girls in her class. Her reluctance was explained when she began to describe the rather explicit conversations between the girls. I was so shocked that I went to the principal who confirmed that the girls in her grade were very "R" rated. What can only be described as a terrible persecution began with Vicki as the target. Hits, kicks, threats, and multiple other jabs were her daily lot in school. In fact, at one point the PE teacher, who was a man, overheard girls plotting to harm Vicki in the dressing room and suggested she wear clothes appropriate for PE so she would not be alone in the dressing room with those girls. The principal said that it was because she was a "good" girl and would not join in the behavior. I contacted Uncle Harry and he, as a lawyer, drafted a letter to the school board which resulted in giving us enough time to get our affairs in order and get out of town.
I send my most heartfelt condolences to Mary Alice, Hinda, and Scott on the loss of their father. But, I feel some joy knowing that he has now been united with his most loved wife and that they are again together.
Uncle Harry calmly came to our rescue when we were a young family just moving to Lefors, Texas. We enrolled our two daughters into the local school. Susie was in elementary school and Vicki a 7th grader in the Junior High School. Not long into our stay Vicki was invited to a slumber party. As Vicki is, and always will be shy, I urged her to go and get to know the girls in her class. Her reluctance was explained when she began to describe the rather explicit conversations between the girls. I was so shocked that I went to the principal who confirmed that the girls in her grade were very "R" rated. What can only be described as a terrible persecution began with Vicki as the target. Hits, kicks, threats, and multiple other jabs were her daily lot in school. In fact, at one point the PE teacher, who was a man, overheard girls plotting to harm Vicki in the dressing room and suggested she wear clothes appropriate for PE so she would not be alone in the dressing room with those girls. The principal said that it was because she was a "good" girl and would not join in the behavior. I contacted Uncle Harry and he, as a lawyer, drafted a letter to the school board which resulted in giving us enough time to get our affairs in order and get out of town.
I send my most heartfelt condolences to Mary Alice, Hinda, and Scott on the loss of their father. But, I feel some joy knowing that he has now been united with his most loved wife and that they are again together.
1 comment:
If there can be such a thing as a "good death" from our limited mortal perspective, then Uncle Harry was blessed with a good death, doing what he enjoyed, active right up to the end. Uncle Harry made me feel welcome in the family from the first time I met him. I always enjoyed his quiet humor and courteous manner. He and Aunt Mary seemed like such opposites! She was so forthright and funny. I will never forget Hinda and Roger's wedding when we got to meet so many of Mary's crazy Cajun relatives. I'm sure they are enjoying a great reunion "in the sky."
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