Rest in Peace Uncle Steve

My extended family received some sad news this morning. A beloved family member passed away.

I won't lie, I didn't know him well. I think the last time I saw him in person was at a family reunion back when I was fourteen. That's over half my current lifespan, and I don't feel like I can meaningfully contribute to the discussion of his passing.

But Steve had a close relationship with a number of my readers, and his condition has been a source of tension throughout the family for some time. I felt bad that I made a fun little update about dating my girlfriend and showing off cute cat pictures last night, and that my readers, on receiving the news of Steve's passing, would see that as my follow-up post. To be clear, I hadn't learned the news when I updated.

Technically, I think he was my Great Uncle Steve, but I think a lot of people called him Uncle Steve. He was also known as Uncle Cheese, although I'm not sure what the story behind that was.

I mentioned in a previous update that Uncle Steve had suffered from liver and kidney failure unexpectedly, and that despite his diagnosis being one that usually proves fatal, he had pulled through. I think that's one thing that sort of contributes to how painful this is, he had already pulled off a miracle recovery. Unfortunately, the source of his initial diagnosis turned out to be cancer, which was already advanced, and because his body had already taken damage, surgery and chemotherapy were considered to not be viable options.

There was still some hope, and we thought we had a little more time with him, but this morning we learned that this was not the case.

I'm going to be real... I have only four concrete memories of him. I remember him talking about the normalcy of divorce throughout the family, I remember him talking on the inconveniences of ageing, I remember him offering some sympathies to me regarding some issues my mother was going through, and I remember him talking to his struggling sister, urging her to get help and saying that it's never too late for a person to get better.

At the time, he came across as someone who would speak straightforwardly. He seemed stable, honest, practical, hardworking, compassionate, and he seemed to have a sense of humour.

I know he was a fire fighter, and in the later stages of his condition he received some support from other fire fighters, his reputation still holding influence in that community.

Even if I didn't know him well, his conditioned has weighed more heavily on me than I think I deserve to feel, and I still tried to donate my energy to that metaphysical web that Aunt Laura said she opened up for family members.

I'm sure that I am underselling his legacy, and as I've said, I'm not the guy that can speak best to who he was, but I wanted to at least make a post in his honour and to pay my respects. Rest in Peace Uncle Steve.