Goodbye Uncle Marty...

Marty and I, just after my dad passed away.

There are some people that touch your life that you will always be grateful for. My Great Uncle Marty was definitely that kind of person. Some of my first memories with Uncle Marty center around his visits to Wisconsin from California. Occasionally he would join us at a family picnic, and I remember many times being mercilessly beat at his hands in backgammon. But then he moved from California, to be closer to family in Wisconsin. No longer was he just an occasional visitor in my life, I knew there was a gem there.

The memories that I have of our time together will remain vivid and cherished. With every clack of the dice on the backgammon board I will think of the many games we played together. I will remember with great warmth all of the times that we sat together in his living room and he talked about his life, his youth, his family and our shared heritage. Uncle Marty offered a wealth of history to the Kaprelian side of my family. He had stories and answers to questions about our family that I never had the chance to ask his sister, my Grandma Alice.

I could ramble on and on about all that I've learned from Uncle Marty, about life or about our family...but maybe what's more important is just to take a moment and enjoy my relationship with him, and share with you how profound his presence in my life was. Uncle Marty was the grandfather I never had (I never knew either of my grandfathers), he was an enormous support to my sisters and I while my dad was sick, he was advice and wisdom with a side of extra life experience. No one can truly measure the impact one person can or will have on their life. But I can say that Uncle Marty's impact on my life was great (both in scope and emotion). I am fortunate to be able to count him as such a positive influence during some of the most formative years in my life.

Uncle Marty passed away peacefully today, four months short of his 100th birthday. But it is not the number years, or days, or hours that someone lives that makes them extraordinary....it is the impact they have, and the memories they created that matter most. He is loved and will be greatly missed....


Thank you Uncle Marty.