The very tough series of familial exits over the past year continued late Sunday night with the passing away of my Favorite Panamanian’s beloved uncle. Tio Julio was a real character, my mother in law’s younger brother, who was a family mainstay throughout the time I’ve been associated with this incredible family. He would always show up in the house whenever he heard we were in town with a couple of jokes loaded up to make my wife break down in laughter. No matter where we were living in the world, whenever a birthday rolled around we could count on an early morning phone call from Tio Julio.
TIO Julio Loved Dominoes
He came to visit us when we lived in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania and was especially touched when we visited a festival
that featured bagpipe music., much to wife’s consternation. She’s never
understood my affection for the best musical instrument ever invented. A couple
years ago when another of his brothers was extremely ill Tio Julio opened his
house up and insisted the brother be housed there for the last months of his
life. Late last year Tio Julio was struck by a series of strokes that left him completely
incapacitated. We visited him a couple times this year although he didn’t
recognize us and was completely incapable of communicating. 
With Family at his 80th a Few Years Ago
Tio(l)on the Bus to the Beach
I’ve written many times about the
incredible aunts and uncles from my father’s family that I was blessed to grow
up with. My Favorite Panamanian was similarly fortunate with her mother’s brother
and sisters. She had them for a lot longer than I did mine but over the past
year she’s lost three of them. She admitted that Tio Julio’s passing was a
blessing as the vibrant jokester he was for his entire life was no longer
present in the shell that remained after the strokes. Nothing makes it easy
though. My Favorite Panamanian returned to David today to assist her cousins
with making arrangements and today we’ll attend the funeral. R.I.P. Tio, I’ll
miss your phone calls.
With his Brothers and Sisters
R.I.P. Tio
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RECURRING CHARACTERS:
ABFA – Amazing Best Family
Athlete - my daughter
in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter
#3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel -
second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue
about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut
Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor
of the big river; Curbside Girls – close
friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which
grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of
course); FBR - First Blog Reader -
first granddaughter; First Friday –
celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene
Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene,
NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend
since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife –
her US sisters, my wife is the 3rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew –
son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia
member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends
of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin
Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we
have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high
school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the
Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather -
my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course
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