I have a picture of Uncle Doug in my head – it is actually a photograph I took once, perhaps twenty years or more ago – that stays with me still. I spent the morning looking for the photo to send on but failed to find it. But it is clear as a bell in my mind. It was a profile shot, with my dad and others in the background, and Uncle Doug laughing out loud about something, everyone smiling along with him. I do not remember the conversation but the image captured Uncle Doug for me – his genuine good humour and always comforting presence. Our families spent so many holidays together when I was a young that you all seemed part of my immediate family as a child – quite different from the status of the other aunts, uncles and cousins. And Uncle Doug was the lovely warm hearted uncle with the ready smile and a big hug on offer. My affection for him, and for Aunt Eleanor, as a small child was unqualified. I recall when at sixteen I received my first pair of pierced earrings from my parents, gold no less, and proudly wore them over to the Montagues house for dinner - only to lose one in the snow in their driveway – Uncle Doug kept looking for it until spring when the snow receeded far enough to unearth it and send it back to me. I was delighted of course, and if my affection for him had not already been certain this act of kindness would certainly have secured it. I have the earrings still and think of Uncle Doug every time I put them on – despite the fact they were a gift from my parents. I was crushed when my father died years ago, and remember Uncle Doug being there to give me one of his comforting hugs. I can only imagine the grief you must all feel at this time on losing such a kind father – and wish I could be there to offer you a hug in sympathy.
