Sunday's Obituary: Freddie Harrison, My Grandfather's Brother.

New Bern Sun Journal
November, 10 1979

I was only fortunate to have met a couple of my grandfather's siblings. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet his brother Freddie so I really don't know much beyond the obituary I have for him. One interesting thing did come to light when I showed the obituary to my mother.  I noticed one of Freddie's daughter's was named Brenda which happens to be my mother's name. I said to myself, "Wow, I wonder if my mom knows about this."  When I showed her the obituary she responded very casually that she knew that she had a cousin with the same name as her. Her response was kind of like..well, you know about this, don't you? Sometimes I think as we get older, we make the assumption that our memories and family stories are already known by everyone. That it's passed down my osmosis or something. This sharing of this obituary revealed to me how important it is to keep asking questions and to share discoveries with all members of the family. The conversations that develop as a result can be so fruitful with new information.

Comments

  1. It is important to share and ask questions. I am often amazed what is learned whether I am the one sharing or the one receiving information.

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  2. My mom told me a story the other day that she thought she'd told me before. I asked her, again, to just write stuff down as she thinks of it. No special format, just write it down.

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  3. Debi, I can definitely relate. My mom won't write stuff down so I just keep asking questions until she gets tired of talking.

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