Last of a generation. L-r: Marie (widow of Dad's brother Howard), Leila (Dad's sister), Dick and Ruth (Dad's other brother and his wife), Mom and Dad, and Grace (Dad's other sister). The three widows, Marie, Leila, and Grace, are all 90 or above and remain sharp and active. Click the photo for a much larger view.
The Dennie clan held a reunion Saturday afternoon at my cousin Karen's place in Belding, Mich. Dad and his siblings grew up in nearby Lowell, Mich.
I hadn't been to one of these reunions in several years. I was dismayed that so many of my cousins look old, now that they're in their 50s...like me. I'm actually one of the youngest cousins, since Dad was the youngest sibling.
My uncle Dick and Aunt Ruth flew up from Texas. Dick is one of Dad's brothers (the other, Howard, died 11 years ago). When Dick and Ruth lived in Michigan, we spent a lot of time with them and their two daughters, Nancy and Carolyn, who were a couple years older than me. That seems so long ago. Dick and Ruth had two more daughters just before moving to Texas. I've only met them once (they had strong Texan accents).
Career-wise, I've been hanging around and writing about and cheering on churches and pastors for the past 25 years as my denomination's Communications Director.
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