Happy Homecoming Uncle Larry!

Hello!

Today in Indianapolis, my extended family is gathering to remember and say goodbye to my Great Uncle Larry Pottenger.  He died on September 20th and was 93 years old.  He was my Grandpa's brother (in case you don't remember what a "great uncle" is).  I wish I was there with them.  So, I will write this little blog to honor him.

Uncle Larry was a sweet and patient man with me as I was growing up.  He worked at the family nursery - Pottneger Nursery and Landscape Co.  He was a landscape architect who studied with Frank Lloyd Wright.  I didn't know that as a child.  I knew that he cared enough to find out what my favorite flower was.  He gave me some Lilies of the Valley to plant in our yard and spent the time to tell me how to take care of them.  (I didn't inherit the family green thumb - those flowers never did very well)  I remember dancing on his shoes when I was really little :).  He and Aunt Ellen had a beautiful house in the woods.  They even fed the racoons that would come around.  I thought that was really cool!  When I was grown and went to visit them, I discovered their house was in a neighborhood, but it still looked like the woods to me.  Maybe that was due to my uncle's landscaping artwork in his own back yard.

I found out that he designed and supervised the landscaping of the Indianapolis Zoo and the Monument Circle Tree Planting and Beautification in 1960.  He also worked on beautifying several homes and gardens in the Indianapolis area.  It is amazing the things you learn about someone after they are gone.  Even so, that wasn't the important stuff.  The important thing was that I knew he loved me.  He cared about his family and friends.  When it comes right down to it, if others can say that you loved, then that was a life well lived.  Uncle Larry loved with all his heart.

And so, today with my family, I say goodbye for now.  Have a very happy homecoming with our Lord, Uncle Larry.  Have a great reunion with your parents and Grandpa & Grandma, Uncle Dick, Aunt Doris & Uncle Johnny, and Aunt Miriam & Uncle Bill.  You all have a great big party with the Lord and when the rest of us come we will join in the celebration!