The Passing of a Generation

This week I got the sad news that my great uncle Clarence Ramsay had die.  I did not know my uncle Clarence very well, other than he was my grandmothers only brother, a twin, a farmer, and when I went on my mission in 1988, he sold a calf to help pay for it.  But I hardly saw him except at family reunions and funerals.

I did get to meet with him, this past August, when he was down in Arizona.  He wanted to come down and visit here one last time.  We had a family gathering at Mattta's, and meet with cousins I have not seen in years or even ever.  I got to talk to Uncle Clarence for just a brief moment, but I was surprised that at 90 year young, he remembered coming down for my farewell. 

With his death, this is the end of a generation.  All of my grandmothers siblings are now gone.  I still have a lot of my grandmothers journals and pictures, berried deep in storage.  Looking back on those pictures before, they are memories of my grandmothers and my moms generation, and many are not labels and hard at times to know who is in them.  One day I hope to get them out, and go over with other family member and be able to know who is in the pictures.

I also hope to continue to have contact with all of my Ramsay cousins.  With that generation gone, it seems harder and harder to get together.  I hope we do not forget are since of family that I always got from my grandmother, and my aunts and uncle. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Feeling left behind

Over the past month I have been to two baptisms, two farewells and a home coming.  It reminds me of what I do not have in my life, children.  I also have had my 44th birthday, which I spent on my own.  My marriage of 22 years is gone, and I really have nothing to show that I am here. But I have been living some what an oddity in the Mormon Church.  Having been married for so long, with no kids, you just don't get the feeling that you are part of the church family.  I have set in many a Priesthood Class, hearing the teacher tell how special it is to be a father, and how closer to God you are.  I really have not made a lot of friends in these wards, because I have no  kids that are in the same Primary Class, Sunday School Class, or Mutual. It even feels like the newly married couple, when they do get pregnant, that they are now one up on me. A few years ago, our Ward did away with the Family Camp Out.  But what stayed were the father/daughter and the father/ sons camp outs.  For
Read more

Trains

Image
Me with Jensen in 2012. As I was writing about my vacation with my grandparents, it made me realize that I had a love of trains.  Not only did my Hatch grandparents work for the railroad, but so did my Grandpa Close.  One thing that I left out from the trips, was that we did stay here in Mesa between our travels from California, Northern Arizona, and Utah.  My grandpa Hatch would always take me down to Pioneer  Park and they had a train engine there, and I climbed all over that train inside and out. I think it that next Christmas that he got me a train set that had and engine that blow smoke.  I had that train until I think the second move out to Arizona.  But I have always enjoyed model trains.  One of the things I really enjoyed about going to the State Fair was going and seeing the model train set below the grandstands.  And then seeing the exhibit in San Diego in 2007. Living in Chattanooga was great as well.  During the Civil War, Chattanooga was the major train hub for th
Read more

Life after High School

This week my oldest niece, Ashley, is graduating from High School.  It is hard to believe that this little girl that I watched from a distance, is now a young woman, and going out into the big wide world.  I remember graduating from the same high school back in 1988.  There was over 800 plus of use getting our diplomas that night. A few days later, I was on a plane to Hawaii, for a week of fun with other classmates.  I had worked all senior year, and back than I think I paid $300 for the total trip.  There was about 15 of us from Mesa High that went on the trip.  About two weeks later, we were all back together to share our pictures of the trip.  The talk turned to what next.  For most, it was off to college.  I was one of three Mormons that went on the trip, and I knew that in two months I would be putting in my papers for a Mormon mission, and with in six months I would be in the mission. field.  I was shocked to find that many envied me,  because I knew what I was going to be doin
Read more