This week's Theme: Faith of Our Fathers
Day 1: One generation to another
The bottle of champagne has remained in my cabinet, unopened, since 2011. Every once in a long while when I have occasion to open that cabinet, I find myself staring at the words, "Thank you for celebrating this day with me." Above the words—the center point of the label—a photo that captured so much of him—his warmth, his openness, his sincerity. And underneath, the simple signature, "Stanley".
In later years, my sister took to playfully calling him "Uncle Stan", but to us and to half the world he was "Uncle Bill". When he emigrated to Canada he became widely known as Stanley, the official name on his birth certificate and formal documents, but his friends and colleagues of the past knew him simply as "Bill."
Life brought many changes, but Uncle Bill remained a constant. In the early years of his retirement he came often to visit us in the US, but when travel became too difficult for him, my siblings and I embarked on a road trip to Canada every summer to spend a few precious days with him and our aunt.
I looked forward greatly to our visits. My uncle, an avid reader and lifelong student, always had much to share with me. He had learned Greek on his own, and studied the New Testament with great passion and zeal.
He was always eager to teach, discuss, and share his knowledge and insights with me. Often, with great excitement and animation, he would point out to me ways in which things tied together in the New Testament and Old, with the Lord Jesus at the center of it all. For me, his teaching captured so well the words of the psalm:
One generation commends Your works to another; they tell of Your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty— and I will meditate on Your wonderful works. They tell of the power of Your awesome works—and I will proclaim Your great deeds (Psalm 145:4-6).
I looked forward to my "summer education" each year, when I continued to learn the faith of our fathers. But that year, 2011, we broke our routine, forgoing the summer trip for a November visit to celebrate Uncle Bill's 80th birthday. Others came from far and near to celebrate with us.
Later, one of my siblings expressed how happy she was that we had had an opportunity to celebrate Uncle Bill with heartfelt tributes and expressions of our love and appreciation while he was still alive. Even she, at that time, did not realize the full significance of that sentiment.
Uncle Bill died in May 2021 in the waning months of the COVID-19 lockdown with its widespread restrictions. Travel was out of the question—the US-Canadian border, with very few exceptions was closed. And gatherings were still severely restricted.
We had not visited Canada for two years—2019 had brought upheaval, crisis, changes, and shifts in schedules; 2020 had brought a global pandemic. And now, my siblings and I had no opportunity to honor, with a last goodbye, the father-figure we had loved and cherished all our lives.
I never would have imagined that my final goodbye to my dear uncle would be a few lines written on a distant webpage (see below). But my sister's words way back in 2011 echo in my mind, and I am thankful that, along with all the treasured private moments, we have the memory of a shared celebration of the man who stepped so largely into our lives as father, mentor, teacher, faith-builder.
And It is perhaps fitting that the now most significant marker along the final miles of my journey with Uncle Bill should be preserved in a bottle of champagne—intact, undiminished, enduring—like his influence on my life.
Tribute to Uncle Bill:
I can add to what others have tried to put into words about you, Uncle Bill—your wisdom, your wit, your knowledge and intellect your generosity of spirit and great humility. But I will always remember your colossal love. Love of family, love of friends; love of humankind.
You were our Everyman—uncle, father, mentor, sage, confidant. You were for us an example of Jesus, reaching out and gathering us all “as a hen covers her brood.” And I believe that the legacy of strength, kindness, and integrity you left will continue through the lives of those you touched and reverberate through generations to come.
My son recently told me that when I am old, I will be as wise as Uncle Bill. That, my dear uncle, was the loveliest thing anyone could say to me. May I—may we all, be as wise, kind, humble and loving as you were; walking in the grace of the Lord Jesus. And like you, be welcomed home with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
