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Note: Memories of Pro
It’s not every girl who gets to have an uncle named Pro. And what a lucky few we are! It’s not an easy name to live up to. Not like Mike or Jim. The incomparable Uncle Pro, though, was fully up to the challenge. He excelled at being an uncle, a friend, and an all-around fun guy. If there was humor and enjoyment to be found in an event (and there almost always was), Uncle Pro would lead the charge in chasing it down.
More than anything, I admire my Uncle Pro for his steadfast refusal to settle. Not for anything or, for that matter, for anyone. His resolve sometimes made his life’s course more challenging. But it’s what made Pro, Pro. I suspect none of us would have wanted him any other way.
Pro also had a way of quietly operating behind the scenes with gifts, thoughts and remembrances that snuck up on you. Seemingly insignificant at the time, only later would you realize they were generosities worth celebrating. A joyous meal together, where he’d pick up the tab before you realized it existed. His signature cock-eyed grin at a joke well-told. His dedication to hunting down our genealogical roots around the globe and across the generations, no matter how far-flung our family has roamed. For our wedding, a graceful set of champagne flutes we can now use every New Year’s from this day forward to toast Pro’s memory, and to exclaim out loud ...
Well played, Uncle Pro!
Wendy J. Cook
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