When I think "Uncle Don" the next words that come to mind is, "Aunt Edna". It is as though "Uncle Don & Aunt Edna" is a single word, as a couple they also seemed to be a single unit. I remember sitting in Aunt Edna's kitchen and Uncle Don coming home for lunch, red-faced from wind and cold, and appreciating. Appreciating the warmth and wonderful smells of the kitchen, appreciating the savory food that was ready when he sat down at the table and most of all appreciating his wife who kept such a neat and well run home. And he expressed his gratitude to God, to Edna, to church and family.

My first memory of Uncle Don was the Christmas my family came up from Mexico and stayed with Grandma Hay. At that time, the Don Hay family lived a couple houses down from Grandma on 35th Ave. in Greeley, CO. After he blessed the holiday table, Uncle Don hushed everyone and turned to me and said, "Everyone has been talking but I haven't heard you say a word, Pinky, wouldn't you like to say something?" I said, "Please, pass the yams?" He laughed and said I was a girl after his own heart, straight to the point. That kind of subtle encouragement given with such good humor was the positive reinforcement that he gave freely and unconsciously. It enabled me to speak up for myself in the years to come even when I disagreed with him.

A builder was not just Uncle Don's occupation; it is what he was. Uncle Don was in charge of construction for the YMCA in Estes Park the year I stayed with Grandma Hay in Greeley during my freshman year of high school. I remember driving by various job sites and listening to his enthusiastic description of the project. I'm sure that everything he built standing today as monuments of his vision, organization and hard work. If Uncle Don was intolerant of anyone it was those who didn't/wouldn't work. "Hands to work, heart to God," would have been his motto if he'd had time for such things.

If Uncle Don was a builder, his motivation was dedication to his family. He educated his children in the ethics of hard work both by example and coaching. Words of praise and a special smile were always on his lips when his wife, Edna, was mentioned. He called her his 'beautiful gal' all the years that I knew them. I will always be grateful for his last visit to his brother, Conrad (my father). Even though Uncle Don & Aunt Edna weren't in the best of health themselves, they rode the bus from their home in CA up to Walla Walla, WA to visit my father, who was very ill with leukemia. They had a wonderful visit and it was their last encounter in this life.

Thank you Uncle Don for being the man that you were. As long as any of us are alive you will be remembered. Aunt Edna, we appreciate you and want to tell you of the impact you and Uncle Don had on all our lives.