Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Thomas Wetmore, my mother's brother, the last of his generation, was most of all a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He and Doris raised four beautiful people who, in turn, have raised his grandchildren to carry on this close knit, family oriented, salt of the earth tradition
My early memories of Uncle Tom began after my father died in 1944. We lived a few blocks from my grandparents in Glenside, PA I'm sure we saw him almost daily from the time I was born, yet my memories of ages 1-4 became blurred with my father's death. Uncle Tom, only 11 years older than I and only 7 years older than my brother Jim, became a volunteer babysitter, an errand runner, a comforter to his niece and nephew, and a needed buffer to keep us out of trouble.
After my family relocated to Corry, PA in 1946, we saw less of Tom, but caught up each summer, glad to hear of escapades, cars, jobs, and his love of Doris. We were eager to hear of each addition to his family and always vowed to keep better avenues of communication.
Time and distance had us going in opposite directions and we didn't really reconnect until about 10 years ago when I started to compile an album of pictures and anecdotes of 5 generations of family. Everyone told me Uncle Tom was the one who had the most information, the genealogy, the pictures, and the stories that I would need.
Tom certainly did share with me. He had pictures of each generation which I had never seen; he had stories about so many relatives that were serious, hilarious, insightful, and informative that I am still working toward a finished product, and I enjoyed each and every communication we had.
I will miss Tom. He was a unique person, loved speaking of family, and showed me that family can reconnect after years of not speaking or writing. How wonderful a legacy he leaves for all of us.
