My Uncle Craig

As I mentioned previously, I am walking in the Relay for Life this May, in the memory of my Uncle Craig who passed away last year after a long battle with melanoma. In the aforementioned post, I asked for donations, but I feel like you should know a little more about the man for whom we are walking. So here it is.

Uncle Craig was a truly unique individual. Honest, warm, and funny, he was someone you looked forward to seeing at family gatherings, knowing he would greet you with a smile and a hug.

Sometimes when I was little he would give me a big, wet kiss. Then I'd rub it in. He was a great uncle.

I remember when I was pregnant, worrying about how much weight I had gained (at that point I was only up to thirty or so pounds), he looked at me and said, "Nicole, you look great! Don't worry about how much weight you've gained." Then his voice dropped to more of a whisper, he looked about the room and said, "Your aunt gained eighty pounds when she was pregnant with Mindy, so you're doing just fine!" Then he smiled.

In the operating room, when they told me my baby was a boy, tears filled my eyes and I thought of Uncle Craig; he had just died the day before and, amazingly enough, he had guessed correctly in the baby pool we had going. A baby boy, born September 7th. He missed by a mile on the weight, but then so did everyone else (who could have guessed I would have had a 10 lbs. 10 oz. chunker?). He would have loved my son so much; Uncle Craig was a man's man and had six nieces and no nephews.

This was the last time I saw him - not this exact moment, but this trip to Grand Rapids. He was in town for my baby shower, and it was so good to see him. I didn't know it was going to be the last time, but if I think hard enough I can still feel the hug he gave me when he, my aunt, and cousin were leaving.

He was an avid hunter and fisherman, and while that often meant he missed my childhood birthday parties (November 7th), he remembered them anyways and gave me a gift, often wrapped in a Meijer shopping bag. I don't think I got a gift from him wrapped in actual wrapping paper until he married my Aunt Peggy when I was in second grade.


A painter by trade, I once called him up in a panic; I was painting our new living room and the paint wasn't sticking to the walls! He talked me through the problem, gave me suggestions on how to fix it, and told me to call him if I had any more issues. He knew what he was talking about and the rest of the living room came out beautifully.




Uncle Craig lived his life to the fullest, making time for both his family and for the more solitary amusements he loved so dearly. Cancer took him away far too soon, and there are so many days I think of him, miss him, and wish he were here.

We, Craig's Crusaders, are walking this May in efforts to raise money for cancer research in the hopes that other families won't have to endure what we have.

Please visit my personal page on the Relay for Life website and donate as much as you can ... every little bit counts!

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09National?px=9873464&pg=personal&fr_id=14395

Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful day!