Nothing is permanent. Cherish what you have.

My uncle Jim (my mom's oldest brother) wasn't afraid to say what he thought, whether he was giving his opinion or telling you how much he loved you. There's not much he didn't dab his fingers into in his life. As I grew older and moved around the world, I became more and more amazed of his progressive ideas and broad interests for a man who spent most of his life in North Dakota. He was more than just an uncle to my sisters and me. He cared about us like we were his own daughters. More than once, he and Audrey took our whole family into their home with open arms while we transitioning to our life without my dad.


Last December, Jim and Audrey were at Carrie's house while I was living with her before I moved to New Zealand. In the first pic, Jim was giving Audrey a hard time about mittens, then the cute couple. That night, we all sat around the dining room table with coffees and fresh krumkake, chatting and laughing late until it was way past bedtime.

Wherever you are now Uncle Jim, I love you and you are missed.

He graced this earth from 1936-2008.