Beloved

I lost a most precious family member this past Saturday,

my beloved Uncle J.B.

He was my mom's oldest brother, and was in many ways,

the father I should have had.

Having lost my mom just 7 short months ago,

my family is struggling to process this second loss.

I am re-posting this from November 2009,

when I paid him homage here on my blog

****

My beloved Uncle J.B.

That would be short for John Broadus, 

named after my beloved Pappaw, John Broadus Christian.

"The Old Chevy"...that's the title my Mammaw gave this photo. 

There he is on the left, with his little brother, my uncle, 

cradled in my Pappaw's lap.

My Uncle J.B. has always held the 

softest of spots in my heart...he and my Aunt Betty never had children,

 but oh, how he doted on me!

 How tiny I was! 

And yet how safe and completely adored 

I have always felt while in his presence.

How tiny and completely adored he looks here, 

as my Mammaw proudly gazes on...

He has had a rough road of late...he was widowed last year, 

and has suffered other set-backs as well...a car accident, 

a hospitalization and lengthy rehab, moving into assisted living.

But how I love to remember him as this...

What joy!

I love all my uncles, my mothers three brothers, 

but my Pappaw's namesake, Uncle JB, has always been my touchstone.

I received this letter from him as a young teen. 

Kept it safely protected all these many years. 

It's worth more than gold to me now.

Beloved Uncle, 

you are indeed truly beloved.

John Broadus Christian Jr. (1923 - 2012)

J. B. (John Broadus) Christian Jr. was born in Fort Worth, Texas April 13, 1923 and passed away in Dallas, Texas on Holy Saturday, the Eve of Resurrection, April 7, 2012 at the age of eighty-eight. He was preceded in death by his wife of over sixty years, Betty Jo Owens Christian. He is survived by two brothers, C. W. Christian of Waco, Texas and Jimmie Sams Christian of Dallas, Texas and by nieces and nephews. J. B. graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas. He served aboard the U.S.S. Goss in the Pacific theater in World War II and was in Tokyo Bay during the surrender of the Empire of Japan. He studied music at Baylor University, served as Minister of Music and Choirmaster at several Baptist churches in Dallas and Mexia, Texas, and was organist at Calvary Baptist Church in Garland for twenty-five years. He worked also for Lamar & Smith Funeral Home for many years, providing music and other services for thousands of bereaved families. He was a talented painter, an athlete and a lover of the outdoors. J.B. was a wonderfully gifted man. He was a superior tennis player, an able writer, a man of endless curiosity about life and the world about him. Above all, he was a musician who loved the harmonies of life.

ETERNAL rest grant unto him, O Lord, 

and let perpetual light shine upon him. 

 May the souls of the faithful departed, 

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 

Amen.

Give my mama a hug from me, okay?