My Uncle Leon...the first thing that comes to mind is 'bigger than life'...not only was he large in stature....he was large in life, love for his family, his community, his church, and just his pure zest and love of living.
Recently my son did an English paper...and by accident (he doesn't tell me much of anything) I found out it was about Uncle Leon. I asked him what he wrote. He said, "Mom, I just began to think about him. Anytime Uncle Leon's name is spoken along with what the person is saying they always have to say what a great man he was, how much fun he was, and what he meant to our family. I just began to think that I really missed out on knowing him better than I did and also how great it would be to have people, when they talked about me, to talk about me in the way I hear everyone talk about Uncle Leon." Wow! This kid...he has always lived away from home and family..who didn't know Uncle Leon like we all did but yet he understood and felt what he means to us...the kind of man he was....and he wants to be like him!
There truly was no greater man. He was our 'mountain' in our family and although he isn't here in body with us....that huge presence of a man still is...in everything we do.
Leon was the best kind of brother to have.. kind, generous, fun, loving, and always ready to have a good laugh. He loved life and loved making plans of what he and DarlLynne were going to do when they retired. He would sometimes include us in plans too of where we would go and what we would see..We took several imaginary trips and so did Momma, Daddy and Mary. One day Momma reminded him of where he would take them and she said, 'Leon, we sure have been a lot of places' and they had a good laugh about that...
He loved his family and loved his country. He took pride in America and it's people.
Like everyone else, I miss him very much and how he would love checking out and being a part of this Family website.
Kelly Green (Graybill)
My Uncle Leon...the first thing that comes to mind is 'bigger than life'...not only was he large in stature....he was large in life, love for his family, his community, his church, and just his pure zest and love of living.Recently my son did an English paper...and by accident (he doesn't tell me much of anything) I found out it was about Uncle Leon. I asked him what he wrote. He said, "Mom, I just began to think about him. Anytime Uncle Leon's name is spoken along with what the person is saying they always have to say what a great man he was, how much fun he was, and what he meant to our family. I just began to think that I really missed out on knowing him better than I did and also how great it would be to have people, when they talked about me, to talk about me in the way I hear everyone talk about Uncle Leon." Wow! This kid...he has always lived away from home and family..who didn't know Uncle Leon like we all did but yet he understood and felt what he means to us...the kind of man he was....and he wants to be like him!
There truly was no greater man. He was our 'mountain' in our family and although he isn't here in body with us....that huge presence of a man still is...in everything we do.
Dot Balentine (Green)
Leon was the best kind of brother to have.. kind, generous, fun, loving, and always ready to have a good laugh. He loved life and loved making plans of what he and DarlLynne were going to do when they retired. He would sometimes include us in plans too of where we would go and what we would see..We took several imaginary trips and so did Momma, Daddy and Mary. One day Momma reminded him of where he would take them and she said, 'Leon, we sure have been a lot of places' and they had a good laugh about that...He loved his family and loved his country. He took pride in America and it's people.
Like everyone else, I miss him very much and how he would love checking out and being a part of this Family website.