Rev. Morris Hudgins, Senior Minister revmorris@westsideuuc.org
For Those We've Lost
Rev. Morris W. Hudgins
On Saturday, December 20th, I received a call from my mom that my brother Denny, had died. Denny was my older brother. He served in the U.S. Navy for twenty years and then moved to Virginia. Along with my oldest brother, Larry, he began doing geneology research. For the next 25 years he would do this work. He documented all of the original landowners in Virginia, then did work for individual families. He loved doing this work. He would live in apartments provided by historical societies as he would work for them.
In recent years Denny lived in Emporia, Virginia. He was the overseer for a landlord who died last year. Her daughter then asked him to continue doing this work. Marti and I visited him this summer. We are so glad we did. He had become a recluse, rarely communicating with others. His former wife, who lived in Scotland, died of cancer many years ago. Their children all moved to Florida. I encouraged him to be in contact with them.
Unfortunately, when Denny died, he had not been in touch with others. The other tenants had not seen him for several days, so called the police, who found him. This is the second death of my siblings this year. I did a service last spring for my sister, Karen.
This is most difficult for my mother, who has lost four of her seven children to early deaths. My older sister, Janet, had died of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. My eldest brother, Larry, died of health problems acquired while he served in the Army in Vietnam. My younger sister, Karen, died in a nursing home last spring. She suffered from Mental Illness after the birth of her fifth child. She was alienated from those who were close to her.
There are so many lessons here. Please stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Treasure your families. Please prepare a will and give instructions to those close to you. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones this New Year.
Rev. Morris Hudgins