Andrew Jackson Frost – Rest In Love
I know I usually reserve Thursdays for reviews, but death has knocked on my families door and took a big piece of my heart and I want to tell you all about him. He deserves a celebrity style memorial and article, because he was more than a celebrity to me.
I didn’t have a lot of positive male role models in my life growing up, nor did I have a lot of positive pictures of marriage and true love. Matter fact, I can only think of one pair, that hasn’t been destroyed. My Aunt Vern and Uncle Jack, married for 68 years, they’ve never spent a day apart minus his times in the war.
I don’t know much about their lives before us grandkids, all I have is my memories of him and stories that I have been told, but I don’t want to give you their stories, I want to give you mine. I remember as a kid, my Mom, and Aunts would send all the grandkids to Arkansas. My Grandma was still working at the time so my brother and I would go to their house during the day. They owned a local laundry mat, and my uncle was good at his hands, he did everything. I remember all the times he would come in with his work jumpsuit, you know the old mechanic one piece with the buttons down the front. He would be full of oil, from cars he worked on, or machines that broke down. A jack of all trades.
His sense of humor was amazing. I never seen my uncle shed a tear or frown. He had this deep down in the belly laugh that filled your soul with smiles. He loved us, I mean really loved us. I haven’t seen him in the last I think 10/15 years, but we had lots of telephone conversations. He, unfortunately, never met my girls face to face, but he spoke to them on the phone constantly, especially when my Grandma was there visiting. He loved my kids just as much as he loved us grandkids. The spark on his face when in pictures with his great-grandbabies. Family was everything to him.
My Aunt is the tough aunt, you know the one that would tell you about yourself and then make you a hot meal, the one that didn’t care who you are she will tell you about yourself. She didn’t always smile hard, but when my Uncle would come home she would. He was the only person I ever saw who could calm her down. 68 years is a long time to be with someone, to have them taken away from you.
Tuesday, my Uncle passed away, he was 94 years old. This ripped holes in my soul. I cried until I think my eye sockets were dry. He was sick, and that morning, I received a text warning that things were bad, but I expected him to pull through. He always did. I know crying won’t bring him back, but it hurts all the same. As I sit here typing this out, my eye sockets hurt, I just wish I could see his smile one more time, here his laugh. I can’t imaging what my Aunts are going through, or my cousins.
He was one of my few role models on how a man was supposed to be. I may not be able to see him put to rest, but he will forever be in my heart. I love you Uncle Jack, until we meet again.
Tiffany M. Arnold 