My Family Lost A Special Member

On Friday evening (April 17th), my family lost a very special man, Harry Loar. He was the loving and devoted husband to Ruth for almost 61 years. He was so many things to all of us. A special soul who touched the lives of our family in ways that will stay with us all as we continue our earthly journey. I can’t speak for the rest of the family but I know they all feel the loss of Harry as strongly as I do. Harry was so much more than just an Uncle to me and I feel the need to share with my regular readers and my family members just how important his presence in my life was.

Every soul that we encounter as we walk this road of life is significant and important. I feel so blessed that as I have placed each footstep on the long and winding path of my own journey to have had so many special souls to walk with me. Uncle Harry did more than just walk next to me.

If we are lucky Heroes Walk Among Us

I tried in an awkward way to tell Harry that he was one of my heroes when I visited him in the hospital a month or so ago. I’m not sure that he heard me or understood the magnitude of what I was trying to say. Like the person in the song by Bette Midler…He was one of my heroes and he was definitely the wind beneath my wings in my youth and adult life.

There are so many memories of my childhood that include my Uncle Harry and even more memories were made as I became an adult. As I look back and reflect on those memories there is a common thread in many of them. He encouraged me to spread my wings, to grow, to do….to become the me that I was supposed to be. He made sure that I experienced life in different ways than I had been exposed to. He helped me to fly higher, to soar like that eagle. Isn’t that a hero?

Harry was sometimes like a father to me and always a friend in the truest sense of the word. My girls loved him so much and felt so connected to him that they called him Grandpa as they were growing up.

Common Interests

Back when I was a young wife and mother, Harry and I discovered cross-stitching. We both loved to stitch and Harry became much better at it than I have ever been. My goodness the pieces that he did were just remarkable. When we would stop in to visit, he would pull out the piece he was currently working on and show me pieces he had finished. He would pick designs that were intricate and make them into pieces of art. I love that we could share that together!

Back in the 1980s when I became interested in getting my first computer, Harry was the one person on this earth who encouraged me to follow my instincts. He actually helped me get my first one. Can I tell you how many hours we spent talking computers? I might get stuck on a command and I would call him. He might get stuck and he would call me. This, folks, was back when you started with a black screen and the C prompt. To get anything to work, you had to type the command you wanted. We learned computers together.

If I had a nickel for every hour that Ruth, Harry and my first husband Jeff spent playing Pinochle, I would be a wealthy woman. Oh we had so much fun. It was much more than sitting and playing a game of cards. We talked, we laughed and just genuinely enjoyed the company of each other.

Dear Uncle Harry, I want you to rest on that mountain and enjoy the company of those who went before you. Save a place for those of us who will join you when it is our own time. Watch over us, please. I hope that before you left this earth that you knew just how very special you were to all of us.

Some might think it is odd that I would use this site to pay a final homage to my beloved Uncle Harry. I don’t think that it is. I’ve spent years discussing the “teachers” that give us lessons to live by. In my mind and heart, Harry was the epitome of a teacher showing me and those around him how to live a good and honorable life.

My request for you today: In honor of this special man, Harry Loar; do something that will make a difference in someone’s life. Let them know that they are special to you.