My almost grandpa

Both my parents lost their fathers shortly before I was born so I never had a real grandpa. What I did have was an Uncle Wallace who inspired my love of a good story. Wallace was my mom's oldest brother (19 years older than she).
He lived with us for awhile when I was really young. He had this terrific gravely voice and a sweet chuckle for a laugh. I remember he read the newspaper from cover to cover every morning before he did anything else. He'd let me crawl into his lap and he'd tell me all about what was going on in the world just like I was one of his friends and could understand it all. He never treated me like a child. I really liked that about him.
After he moved out of our house, I still saw him a good bit. He always had something for me - a toy, some candy, a Little Debbie cake (he LOVED Little Debbies) AND a $5 bill. The best things he had for me though were stories. He had been everywhere, met everyone, and done everything or so it seemed to me. He also had a souvenir of it somewhere in his house. He was the biggest pack rat I have ever known. Neesie Nash and the Clean House crew would have run screaming from his living room alone. But he couldn't bear to part with things because things were connected to stories and people and memories.
As I grew older, I saw him less and less. I was always so busy. His health grew worse. He had several heart attacks and so many times we thought this was it, but he always bounced back. He was such a fighter. In later years, Alzheimer's claimed his memory, such a bitter road for someone who valued his memory so much. He had fought heart disease and other physical ailments, but he couldn't fight off this one. I saw him last a little over a year ago and he sort of remembered me, but not really. His firey spirit and love of the tale was gone. My Uncle Wallace was lost inside a body and brain that no longer worked the way he needed them to.
His body finally gave up the fight last night. Today he no longer has a use for that failing body and his memory is fully restored. I am sure he's having coffee and Little Debbies with the angels right now and entertaining them with tales of his many adventures.