Thursday, June 23, 2011
My two big brothers were teenagers when I was born, so I essentially had four parents and four people to spoil me. One of my first memories of Derwent was when he had to leave the farm and get trained to be a soldier. It was a sad day, but fortunately he never had to go to war and was able to return to us. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In my preschool days I remember falling asleep in my mother's arms listening to music -- Derwent playing piano, brother don on the fiddle, and Dick O'Hara and maybe others, as they practised to play for dances at the old school house. How Dad loved that toe-tapping music -- perhaps even enough to get out his Jew's harp. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
On May 3rd, 1947, Derwent married Audrey Hoover, giving me another kind sister-in-law. They allowed me to be a bridesmaid at their wedding along with Audrey's sisters -- a big deal for a 12 year old. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I enjoyed holidays at their home in Sarnia when I was a teen, so when Ken and I were married, Jim, Bryan, and Nancy came to our home in Elmira for a week during summer vacation. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I also recall happy times at their cottage on Lake Huron and when our sons David and Richard were old enough, Uncle Derwent took them to the water to race with him on the beach. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Derwent was a perfectionist. His tools were organized and hung neatly in the garage. His vegetable garden somehow grew without weeds. He retained a deep love for the farm and the team of horses he had, mentioning them frequently. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
One of the things Derwent and I had in common was our interest in exercises to improve our health. He loved to show you some he did daily on his living room floor. Of course he also swam, biked, walked, and cross-country skied. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Anyone who knew Derwent heard the story how his mom made him practise piano two hours a day and if he missed a day, the next day he had to do four hours. He continued to play piano most of his life and at one time his church installed their new organ in his house so he'd learn how to play it. When the organ was moved to the church, he purchased his own organ. Sometimes we played a duet -- I on the piano and he on the organ. As a Mason he played marches for the men as they entered conventions. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Well, big brother, I will miss you but I have many memories to recall. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your sister, ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Muriel
