This is a difficult subject not from the point of view of the sadness because of the loss of family members but a result of the timing of the death of each family member, right down to the timing of the funerals. This time around it is hard to be serious!!
My dearly loved uncle Bill, - Robert William Buckley - passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning at the age of 87 or perhaps 88. He was my mother's oldest brother and a bulwark to our family in more ways than one. When I was growing up I loved my uncle Bill so much and there are so many funny stories about the way he used to kid around with us... yes lots and lots of stories to tell about my favourite uncle.
My cousin, Peter Allan MacGregor Henderson, was the oldest son of my late father's brother, and he died at around 7.00 am on Sunday morning, April 6, 2008. In the early days our families were close but there was a rift after Peter's sister, Dorn, was kidnapped, raped and murdered before she reached her 21st birthday. My remaining cousin on that side of the family, Neroli had been like a little sister to me. It is for her sake that I will be attending his funeral.
It is hard to imagine a situation where there are members on two sides of the family have passed away within hours of each other on the same day. In the past, when my father died, my mother's cousin Stella passed away 2 days later, but not on the same day.
The funeral arrangements now in place and both funerals are on the same day. I want to attend both funerals and I live interstate so timing is critical as far as I am concerned. So here comes the funny part of the coincidence. My uncle's funeral will come first. It will begin at 10.00 am at St. Michael's Ashburton in Melbourne Victoria. Like the other 3 who are being buried this week, my uncle had been an active member of that parish and probably a founding member of the parish as well. Yes, four of them in one week!!!! After the Mass we will proceed to the Springvale cemetary for the burial. My cousin's funeral is at 1.15 pm in a chapel at the Springvale cemetery. The irony of this situation and funeral arrangements has not escaped past me. Yes, I can laugh about the way it has panned out.
My uncle Bill had always been "there" when we needed a helping hand. When I lived not very far away and my oldest son had come down with a fever, and I was without a car, it was my uncle Bill and aunt who came to give me much needed assistance. They took me to Box Hill hospital where I remained until the fever had subsided. This is only one story, one very precious memory of my uncle.
The years had not been so kind to uncle Bill, especially after his brain injury when he fell out of a tree. The last time that I saw him he was showing the signs of old age in more ways than one. My cousin Dorothy had been looking after her parents and it must have been hard for her and Keith to make the decision to move uncle Bill into a nursing home. It was a brain aneurysm and internal bleeding that took a toll and so my uncle has passed peacefully.
My cousin Peter was diagnosed with inoperable cancer and he only told his younger sister in late March that he was going to die. My sister had given me the news and I was expecting his death and expecting to attend his funeral, but I was unprepared for hearing that he had passed away on Sunday. My cousin had moved back to his old home after his father had died so that he could care for his ailing mother. This is of course an act of charity that many do not carry out in their lives, and for this act alone I need to honour the memory of Peter Henderson. He suffered prior to death, but his death was also peaceful. Prayers that he have a happy and peaceful death were answered.
