Memorial

Joe's memorial was Saturday. There was prayer & Bible readings, Scottish bagpipes & Irish songbirds. My sister compiled a wonderful montage of photos of Joe throughout his life & put together the music. A very kind pastor talked about the celebration of life.

Then we got to a part called "A Brother's Thoughts":

For the past few weeks, I have been trying to get my thoughts together enough to make an acceptable memorial service for my big brother. Let me start by first giving my thanks to all of you present here for this service. I want to express my appreciation to Pastor Greg Ralston for his kind words and support to our entire family. I also want to express my gratitude for the support of my wife Tokuko, my daughter Regina, my son-in-law Sherman, my granddaughter Caitlin, my daughter Colleen, and the rest of our family. They provided the highest degree of what "family" truly means, both to me and my brothers' children. Thank you.

Most of the people here knew my brother as George---not me. He has been and forever will be known to me and my family as "Joe". Joe was born Nov 4, 1931, the first-born of the family. He had it pretty good for the first 6 years, than our sister Mary Jean came along. Then 2 years later, his life changed forever!! The "baby" of the family, his little brother, was born. THAT'S ME!! No more going out to play with his friends----he had to watch "the baby", or else take "the baby" with him!

Joe was a story-teller and I know many of you have heard a lot of stories about him and me. No one could tell a tale like him. Believe me, they were all true! Most of the stories ended with him getting a spanking from Mom, because in Mom's eyes, the "baby" could do no wrong! (THAT'S ME AGAIN!)

We had what I would call a special brother to brother relationship. We were there for each other on many different occasions. Even though I was gone from New York, spending 20 years in the Navy before settling here in the Springs, we knew we could count on each other for whatever assistance was needed. As an example, my wife became pregnant with our first child in Dec 1965. Since I was deploying to Vietnam for an unspecified time, I called Joe in New York and asked if he could care for her while I was gone. Understand, my wife was from Japan and they had not met yet. Without hesitation, Joe said "Of course I'll take care of her. That's what brothers are for." I took my wife to New York, introduced her to her brother-in-law and left. I returned to New York in Oct 1966 and met my 2-month son for the first time. "That's what brothers are for".

In 1998, Joe called me. He had entered into a disastrous second marriage and he found himself alone, saddened and just about to give up on life itself. He said "Tommy, I need you." I immediately went to New York. We talked for 3 or 4 days...that's all we did was talk. I convinced him he should relocate to Colorado Springs, where he could live with me and my wife and our family. He agreed, and in May 1999, he became a member of our household. After all, "That's what brothers are for."

For the past 9 1/2 years, we were together almost every day. Joe got involved in meeting some fantastic people here and truly enjoyed his new life (except he continued to rout for the Buffalo Bills and not the Broncos!)

As much as I truly believe that Joe is in a better place, with his beloved wife Regina, our Mother and Sister, I still am feeling a deep loss. Joe was my hero when I was growing up, and although his passing was rapid, he showed an uncommon sense of pride, dignity and class.

"Big brother, thank you for who you were. I love you and miss you. We'll be together one day. Put the coffee pot on."

-C.