Uncle Blaine

My Great Uncle Blaine passed away on Thursday at the VA Hospital. He was 82. He's my Grandma's brother and one of the last couple of "greats" left in my family. Though Uncle Blaine had his own family, he always had a special place in our family.

He's always been very tall and I've thought he was always a very good-looking man and closely resembled my great Grandpa, as well as his sister, my Grandma Huber. I always thought Blaine would live longer than my Grandpa did (a month shy of 93). He's always been a lot healthier and a lot more spunky than my Grandma, but a quick battle with cancer and an infection took him fast. I saw him twice this summer, most recently at my cousin Preston's wedding in August and then at Molly's baby blessing in June. He's the son of my Great Grandpa Stewart Bingham Eccles and the older brother to my Grandma, Geraldine Eccles Huber.

Though my Grandma (just like my Great Grandpa Eccles) can often be very curt and not always that friendly (yes I love her, but she is especially this way in her older age), I've always thought Uncle Blaine was the opposite. He liked to give hugs, always smiled, and seemed to be genuinely pleasant most of the time.

• Uncle Blaine used to work the concessions at the Utah Basketball games and we would always say hi to him there. Once he was honored at a basketball half time for being a Utes "Superfan." They don't do that anymore.
  
• Uncle Blaine always attended the Wood's sporting events. I didn't go to nearly as many SLCC softball games as I should have to watch Meranda play, but the few I did go to, Blaine was there.
• He came to a Murray Girls Basketball Game a couple of years ago while I was selling tickets. We were, of course, surprised to see one another. Blaine explained that he was an avid supporter of Olympus girls sports. Several people in the hallway called him by name (as he kept coming out to see if the snack bar was open yet). He also asked about my family and didn't know I was teaching at Murray. He said he thought I was still a Tooele Buffalo.
• Uncle Blaine came to most Huber functions that he was invited to, except 1 . . . his Surprise 80th Birthday Party! Grandma and Cindy (and others) put it together and it was at Cindy's house. I don't remember all of the circumstances, but someone had nonchalantly invited him to dinner for his birthday and then we were supposed to surprise him with all of us there. Unfortunately, the nonchalant invite did not require an RSVP and Blaine didn't come. Someone finally got a hold of him and I think he'd said that he'd gone to bed early (or something like that).
• I remember Grandpa Eccles once telling about Blaine's name. (I tried to verify this in Grandpa's History book, but could only find that "Blaine" was chosen by Stewart and Fern, and "Stewart" was chosen by my Great Great Grandpa Stewart Eccles.) Anyway, it's seems there is a story about some disagreement about whether to name him Blaine Stewart or Stewart Blaine, but somebody (my mom said probably Grandma Fern) said it didn't matter because he was either going to be an SoB or full of BS.
  
• While trying to verify the last story, I found this one from Grandpa's book - "Blaine was born at Bluffdale, Utah at his grandmother Jones' home. Blaine was blessed by Father [Great Great Grandpa] who named him Blaine Stewart Eccles, Fern and I had selected the name Blaine, he added the Stewart and we were up set. Blaine's birth was a terrifying experience, one I shall never forget. Fern after many hours of labor could not have him so Doctor Sorensen took the baby by instruments. He warned us he many not be successful, but thank the Lord he was successful. However he told us after Blaine was born that he may not last thru the day."
• Other things from the book . . . Blaine turned 8 while my Grandma's family was living in Boulder, Nevada. Blaine was baptized in Lake Mead while it was still filling up. . . . At age 10 he was hit by a car and broke his leg. He was in a cast "from his arm pits to his toes."

Today we celebrated Blaine's life with his family at a luncheon, then a brief graveside service (which I missed most of because Molly was cold, tired, and grumpy), and then an open house thing tonight.

We will miss you, Uncle Blaine! Thanks for being such a nice man!