My Uncle Pete
My uncle, Pete Burton, had to be one of the most easy-going men who ever lived. It seemed nothing ruffled my Uncle Pete. No matter what the situation, Pete would give his same characteristic response, "I don't know, it don't matter much anyway".
Everyone loved Pete. He just had that way about him. Like my own Dad, his own childhood had not been easy -- I think that made him sensitive towards others. I don't think Pete was capable of saying or doing anything to hurt others. He was just simply a very sweet man. Sweet, yet very rugged and outdoorsy.
He was a hunter and a fisherman. And to me (as a child), he seemed to never be afraid of anything. He could kill rattlesnakes, and once he had killed a coral snake, which he kept for years in a jar of special liquid to preserve its colors.
I have so many memories of my Uncle Pete that it's not easy to select just a few to share. But among my favorites is the time we all (Aunt Ruth, Uncle Pete, Aunt Frances, Uncle Everett, Aunt Kay, Mom, my sister Frankie and I) went to Disney World. It was one of the best days ever. Pete was like a little boy -- riding everything and having the time of his life. We still have the pictures of Pete and Everett wearing their "Mouseketeer ears"! What a perfect day!
Whenever I'd visit their home in Lady Lake, Florida, my Aunt Ruth and I would make a carrot cake for my Uncle Pete to take in his lunches. And oh, the wonderful dinners we had when he came home from work! At night, we'd sit in their Florida room until the wee hours of the morning just talking (or in Pete's case, listening -- because he really didn't talk all that much).
While growing up, I would often go to the gas station or the post office with my Uncle Pete. When he would introduce me to people, he would always say, "This is my niece"; it was never "This is Ruth's niece". Even as a child, I appreciated the fact that we were HIS family, too.
In 1978, while I was in Florida, my Uncle Pete asked me if he could give me away if I ever got married, since he had never had a daughter to give away. What an honor it was for me that he wanted to do that! Sadly, Uncle Pete had already passed away when I got married. But I thought of him that day -- and wished so much that he could have been there.
In our family, no one was more thought of or loved more than my Uncle Pete. Whenever I'm in Lady Lake, it's as though I can feel him there. His presence is very much alive there still. And he is still loved and very much missed by all of us. What a wonderful legacy of love to leave behind.
