William Foley was an amazing man and a great storyteller.  He constantly told us tales of his childhood and how special his mother was to him.  Sadly, all great things come to an end.  His health was becoming worse and worse.  His lungs and legs were not in the greatest shape and were constantly sending him to the hospital and eventually keeping him in a nursing home.  His location kept changing and he was never as close as we wished he was.  The only company he had at home was his sweet dog, who kept him occupied and busy.  My whole family made our best effort to keep him happy, though.

Unfortunately, a cold winter night took away my amazing great uncle forever.  He passed away in the nursing home right up the street of his childhood home.  His sister got a call early in the morning to receive the horrible news.  The entire family was heartbroken, and still is.  Nobody will ever forget how unique and funny he was.  We all cared for him and loved him so much.  To show how much we cared, my family adopted his dog when he was unable to care for her anymore.  Even though he never got married, he had an amazing effect on people that made him so likable.

The day of his wake was dreary.  Everyone’s hearts were heavy with sorrow.  My two brothers, five cousins, and I sat almost awkwardly while old friends visited to pay their respects.  Many of my great uncle’s close friends from the military came, which was appreciated.  Although it was fascinating seeing all who showed up, it was depressing seeing adults in such a gloomy mood.

The funeral day started much the same as the wake; depressing and sad.  My whole family, dressed in black, paid our last respects.  Prayers were said and it was time for the final goodbye.  I honestly did not think it would be as emotional as it was.  The second they covered his body, everyone burst into tears.  Even my cousins who barely tried to get to know him were sobbing.  I was a little confused as to how they could be so hysterical when they knew virtually nothing about him.  But in the end, he was related to us all and it was an extremely upsetting circumstance.

After we pulled ourselves together, some of my cousins, my grandparents, and I climbed into a limousine.  I sat in the back with my grandma and held her hand to keep her company.  We rode to the church my great uncle went to when he was little.  It was a beautiful, magnificent building.  We all followed the pallbearers in and the ceremony began.  The mass was somber and before I knew it, we were leaving again.

We took our seats in the limo once more and headed to the cemetery.  There was another ceremony but this one was held by the army because he served in the Air Force.  It was very professional.  Afterwards, they folded up his flag and played taps.  I am very familiar with this song because my brother played it several times at many different Memorial Day services.  But when it was played at my great uncle’s funeral, it really affected me.  Now whenever I hear it, I think of him. 

Before this funeral, I went to one other funeral and it was for my dad’s uncle.  I never really knew him and I was really young so I did not understand much.  All I knew was somebody passed away and I should be sad.  But my great uncle Bill’s funeral actually got to me.  It was the first time any close relative of mine passed away.  It made me realize to never take anyone’s life for granted.  Just because the person is much older and might make you uncomfortable does not give you an excuse to eliminate them from your life, because you never know when someone could leave your life forever.