Aunt Ella's Memories

Dear Jennifer

We have many fond memories of Dahl. He has always been such a good friend. Even though our time together was never for any lengthy period of time, when ever we were together it felt like we never had the distance between. He was so pleasant and easy to talk to and to be around.

One of my earliest memories of Dahl was an incident that took place while he and Elaine were living in Midway. They were just young marrieds and Wayne was a toddler. We were visiting from Tempe, AZ and we were gathered in their little home and visiting. Dahl was laying on the floor in front of the TV which was on a stand that had some decorative things on it. One of the items of décor was a piece of driftwood about the size of an arm. Naturally Wayne wouldn’t leave the things alone and kept picking up the piece of wood. Dahl would tell him “No” and patiently put the wood back. This went on for some time and then finally Dahl took the wood from Wayne and gave him a little whack on the bottom and firmly said “No”. Dahl assumed his position of lying on the floor in front of the TV and not long after Dahl had firmly told Wayne “No”, Wayne picked up the pick of wood and went directly to Dahl and hit him on the head with it. Having just completed his degree in Child Psychology Dahl exclaimed, “So much for MY child Psychology.” We all got a good laugh.

Over the years we have enjoyed Dahl’s talents. His love for poetry and his ability to put on paper so many profound and wise words has amazed me. The tender words he penned for my sweet mother at her passing I treasure as he captured our feelings so well at that time. His sense of humor came through in his poems and just reading them would lift ones spirit. He truly has a gift for expressing himself through his poetry and in a way we all could relate to. After reading one of Dahl’s poems you didn’t say, “Huh, what does that mean”?

We have shared some fun times and sad time together but this has bonded us as brothers and sisters. I have always appreciated how Dahl treats my little sister. He obviously loves her dearly and has treated her with kindness and respect over the years. They have such a sweet relationship and it is obvious he loves his little bride from Tropic. I have loved him for that.

Last summer (2010) was a memorable time for us to be together on a cruise to Alaska. Even though it wasn’t easy for Elaine and Dahl they were real troopers and pretty much did every thing the group did. We had such a good time together as we got acquainted with the wonders of Gods creations in Alaska.

About two weeks later we held a Colvin Family Reunion in Tropic and on a Sunday evening Jody Topham, Elaine and Dahl came down and furnished a delicious meal to about 30 of us. This is typical of their love and service to us. This was just a few weeks before Dahl’s last surgery and getting around was not easy for him but they were there and seemed to enjoy our time together.

One very special thing occurred as we all were busy cleaning up the remains of our dinner and there was music playing in the back ground. Dahl was standing off to the side swaying to the music. I hurriedly walked by him and quipped, “wanna dance?” and he in the most sincere way answered, “Yes”. There was no way I could walk on by. I stopped, got rid of the things I was carrying and Dahl and I had a very enjoyable waltz together. It was just a very sweet moment that I won’t forget.

We love you all. The Brown family is so very special to us.

Love, Aunt Ella      Jan. 15, 2011