I would like to share some sweet stories about Uncle Don! I used to stay over night with him & Aunt Norma and I would sleep in Grandma's room. I would wake up seeing Uncle Don walking through the dining room with his cane heading towards the bathroom. I can still see him just like it was yesterday and hear the shuffle of his feet and hear the cane hitting the floor. Sometimes he would hang his cane over a dining room chair and on his way back to bed he'd grab it and off he'd go back to bed. It was so sweet! One time Aunt Norma & I were sitting at the kitchen table and Uncle Don was headed into the bathroom. He was using his cane and getting around fairly well by himself at that time. All of a sudden I glanced up and Uncle Don was looking right at me and he goes, "I LOVE YOU"! I go, that's so sweet Uncle Don...I love you too and if your not careful your going to make me cry! I got up and walked over to him and gave him a hug and a kiss. Aunt Norma was beaming and she goes, You love Marge, don't you dad? She told me that he does love me! It was one of those very memorable moments that I'll never forget about him. Aunt Norma was at work one night and she needed someone to stay with Uncle Don until Carla got off work so I told her I'd keep an eye on him for her so she said ok. Uncle Don was laying down on their bed taking a rest while I cleaned the house for them. He got up and walked around some and I told him he sure did have a beautiful house and he goes, 'I DO"? I go, you sure do Uncle Don! He told me that I sure was working hard cleaning the house! Ha!Ha!I went in to check on him right before I left because Carla was on her way and they said it was ok for me to go ahead and leave if I needed too. He told me to not leave him there by himself! Ha!Ha! I remember taking him an Easter basket full of candy and I got him a chocolate rabbit and he ate the whole thing while me & my family were there that day. Aunt Norma was afraid it'd make him sick but I don't think it ever did! Ha!Ha! Then I had gotten all 3 of our kid's one of those chocolate rabbits and they didn't want their's so I took them and gave them to Uncle Don and he ate those too! Ha!Ha! Probably the most precious memory that I have of Uncle Don when going to their house in Carthage is getting Uncle Don the singing, talking, dancing santa claus and watching him & Aunt Norma open their Christmas gifts from me grinning from ear to ear watching santa move and talk! Uncle Don was having a good time checking out his stocking that I filled with all kinds of good things to eat. Those picture's of the two of them with santa are absolutely "PRICELESS" to me. We were the only one's there or I would have loved to gotten a special picture of me with them & santa. I also had gotten Grandma a santa that year too and she too got a bang out of santa at the nursing home and so did the other residents & employee's. It was a special Christmas that year that I'll never forget with Grandma & The Doyle's. When Aunt Norma passed away and Uncle Don was living with Michael & Crystal I took my sister Shirley with me and continued to go see him. We both enjoyed going to see him or any of the family that happened to be there. It was always good to see the little girl's. Shirley & I both felt Aunt Norma's presence while we were around Uncle Don. Shirley & I both used to take him good things to eat and drink. Aunt Norma would have wanted us to continue acknowledging him and I wouldn't have had it any other way because he meant so much to me & Shirley both and for him to lose his Norma the way he did we felt he needed as much love and support as he could possibly get from everybody. I looked forward to going to see him and I felt Aunt Norma was smiling down upon us for taking the time to go see him. Yes, it was hard to see him in such a pitiful state, but he knew when we were there and I felt it was important to be there for him no matter how hard it was on us girl's. He was all that we cared about! I didn't want him to feel that he was no longer important because of Norma being gone. He was and always will be a big part of my heart. I will never forget the time that all 4 of us kid's went to see Uncle Don. He was in bed when we got there so we all went into his bedroom and saw him. The second that Bob leaned down to him and said Hi Uncle Don and grabbed his hand he became super alert. It was so touching! Bob was saying to him that he remembers when he used to climb out of his hay mount and told Don he used to be pretty ornery back then and Unce Don goes, I used to be ornery too! Ha!Ha! We all about cried because that was the first time that he had talked to anyone for a long time! He was happy that we were all there that night, but it was very obvious that Uncle Don was extra happy to see Bob! [Don & Norma's nephew] One time I was at Aunt Norma's & Uncle Don's and we were out on the old deck and I think Megan & Kristen were there too. Anyway, Uncle Don kept throwing a wash cloth over the side of the deck into the yard and Aunt Norma got after him telling him to stop doing that! I kept getting it for him and he'd smile and toss it over the side again. She kept scolding him and next thing we knew he threw his cane over the side too! Ha!Ha! She goes, dad...your just doing that because you know that Marge will go pick it up for you! It was beyond funny because it didn't bother me that I had to go pick it back up for him. It was comical if anything. I am so lucky that I was given the opportunity to spend so much time with Grandma, Aunt Norma & Uncle Don. I have my husband John & our 3 kid's to thank for that! You CAN'T put a price tag on those kind's of memories of the people you love so much. I will love them forever! John & our 3 kid's were wonderful about always sharing me with family.