My uncle died on Tuesday morning. He found out about a month ago that he had lung cancer, went into the hospital last Friday, and died on Tuesday. This has all been very sudden. I guess I should say that he's not my "current" uncle, but one in a long string of husbands to my mom's sister. She and my (ex)uncle have been divorced for about two years now, but I grew up with Billy as my uncle, so I've continued to treat him as such, at least in conversation. I haven't actually seen Billy since just after their divorce becuase my aunt made it clear that she didn't want any of us seeing him anymore, despite the fact that her oldest son (from an earlier marriage) moved in with Billy after she moved out.
So Billy leaves behind an ex-wife, a would-be-fiance, a 22 year old step-son, and a 16 year old biological son, not to mention numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and his own brothers and sisters. Chris, the 16 year old son, called me on Sunday to let me know that his dad was in the hospital, and we talked for a while about how everything would be okay, no matter the outcome, and I told him his dad loves him very much and that Billy was strong and so on and so forth...I'll be honest, I really thought Billy would pull through, at least for now. Maybe it's because my only information about his condition was coming from a 16 year old, or maybe there was too much wishful thinking involved, but either way, I didn't see this coming.
The funeral is tomorrow at two'o'clock in south Texas. I miss my uncle.
