my Uncle Phil

Hello everyone ... been offline for a while because Sal and I were traveling in remote areas of national parks with spotty and often no Internet access (more about our journey in a future post). 

I'm sad to share that while we were traveling, my Uncle Phil in Canada passed away. :-( Sal and I are terribly sad. He was a special person! He and my Aunt Lois were married for 50 years, he was a dedicated teacher and academician, he generously volunteered his time/talents/treasure to his church and community, and was a fun and kind person. He and I shared a love of travel... recently, he and my aunt enjoyed a trip to the Holy Land and we pored over their pictures together. 

Sal and Uncle Phil shared a love of learning languages, both are fluent in several ...Uncle Phil spoke Latin, French, German, Spanish, some Italian, and probably others that he was too modest to mention.  A special memory for us is that Uncle Phil took Sal to breakfast the morning of our wedding day, 22 years ago.  He and my aunt and grandma traveled from Canada to Florida (in the August heat!) to attend our wedding; we were so honored.

Last fall, we were all together in Canada to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday.  Uncle Phil arranged a special surprise for her party... he and his singing group performed songs from her era, and she was so obviously delighted! A video clip is posted HERE in my October 25, 2011 post...(Uncle Phil is the 3rd gentleman from the right, with the beard and glasses.)  Sorry, but the video may not be supported by all browsers, particularly mobile devices and older versions of Internet Explorer.

We will miss Uncle Phil.... sending sincere condolences to my aunt and my cousins, their 5 children.

Susan