Uncle Bill- William L. Klare

A long and hard fought battle ended on Thanksgiving 2009. Uncle Bill, my mother's brother, passed away with family surrounding him. Although he must have been in pain, he didn't let his family see him suffer long. Thank you, God.

40 years ago, on Thanksgiving, his own father passed away. I'll never forget that Thanksgiving either. Coincidence? I think not. More like Divine reassurance. We are certainly thankful for the gift of his life and the privilege of knowing him.

This is a man I remember from my beginnings. A twinkle in his eye, a quiet sideways look, and a grin. Gentle and strong. Smart about everything. A craftsman. A generous heart. A rancher and cowboy, through and through. A superb storyteller. He served his country in the Navy and lived his whole life on the ranch. A loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, who will be greatly missed. He was our historian. He and Aunt Teresa worked together their entire lives. A partnership like no other. And work they did. The strongest folks I've ever met. I love this photo of them.

When I said I didn't want to use the bread board that he made me, because it was so pretty, he made me another that I could use. When I was plowing for a garden and the disc on the back of the tractor grabbed hold of an anchor for the electrical line west of Grandma's house, sparks flew and I took out our power. He rescued me. When I started a burn pile where I shouldn't have last year, the fire got away from me and I had to call the fire department. He rescued me.

God makes a few great men and this is one of them.