We were all saddened by the passing of my Uncle Tedy, the colorful Chicago policeman/pianist/patriarch/raconteur about whom the boys have heard so much over the years. If only he & Henry could’ve spent a morning together, talking over stories from a long and eventful life; they’d have gotten along famously.
Happily, Hen & I were able to visit Chicago to attend services for Uncle Tedy on Friday & Saturday, and of course to visit our big, extended fam. As I noted beforehand, “I’m drawing Henry an org chart for our Irish Catholic family; might be a long night”—and it was! That’s a great problem to have, and it was a treat to see so many folks over the course of the weekend.
Henry in particular enjoyed old photos, and given that he’s long wanted a mustache of his own, he remarked, “Wow, I would love to have Uncle Tedy’s! He looks like Burt Reynolds. He’s the Bandit minus the cowboy hat!”
Here’s Tedy with his old partner, the late actor Dennis Farina:
Hen certainly appreciated the Nadile family’s generosity in taking everyone out to eat at Morton’s after the funeral. Sad as the occasion was, I know Uncle Tedy would’ve been delighted to bring together so much family.
On Sunday we got to have lunch with Chris & Karren Hertzig (visiting from Rhode Island) as well as Aunt Jane, Sarah, and Young John. Afterwards we drove to Lighthouse Beach on Lake Michigan, where we met up with Liz & Patrick, then dropped by the nearby Baha’i Temple and scored some great Chicago hot dogs (a priority of Hen’s).
Here’s a little gallery of images from the day.
