Monday, April 19, 2010

Death has a funny way of bringing people together...

So in case you didn't know, my Great-Uncle Jefferson Davis Diggs III passed away this past Tuesday morning. I came home for the wake today and for the funeral tomorrow. First off I had no idea my Uncle had so many friends and acquaintances from outside the family, but the funeral home was packed. Then as I walked in, pushing through the crowd, and got to the family section I saw people that I hadn't seen in ages, namely my grandfather Robert Henry Diggs Sr. My Dad was able to get time off of work so the three Robert Henry Diggs' were together again after about 7-8 years.

To provide context, Uncle Jeff was the oldest of five siblings, Andy, Laura, Evelyn and Robert (my grandfather) being the other 4 in age order. Uncle Jeff was affectionately referred to as being a "talented conversationalist", that is being extremely polite and putting it lightly. Uncle Jeff loved to talk, there are stories of him telling stories for hours on end. He was a master a story teller because he would keep you riveted even though every fiber of you wanted to just get up and leave because you knew you were late for something. His stories were oftentimes historical in nature, either about family stuff or history in general. Uncle Jeff was a part of the first sit-in in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I found out today that he is a published author under a pseudonym that I have yet to learn. I learned he was a sponsor in the fellowship, if you don't know what I mean don't worry about it. I'm sure there are a lot of things that  I don't know about, but that's ok, at least I will be learning them with my family together again.

Posted via web from Diggs' Posterous