Uncle Jake’s Memorial Service

We drove to Fort Worth on Wednesday to attend Uncle Jake’s Memorial Service.  He passed away on January 3, 2013.

Uncle Jake was a very proud Army Veteran who served as a Captain flying the Huey Helicopters during the Vietnam War.  He was 68 years old.  After serving the Army for 6 years, he taught school a few years and then became a civil servant.  He was the Athletic Director at Reese AFB in Lubbock, TX, San Vito Air Station, San Vito, Italy, and McConnell AFB, Wichita, Kansas.  He retired from Civil Service in 2003.  He relocated a couple of years ago and resided in Burleson, Texas with his wife, Valerie.

                         

His beloved helmet….

His favorite cap….

Jacob Michael, his only son, spoke beautifully at the service.

Michael, Jennifer and their children.

We all get ready for our forty mile drive to Dallas - Fort Worth National Cemetery.

As we arrive, Mountain Creek Lake sits right across from the National Cemetery.

The unfolding of The Flag….

The refolding of The Flag…

The Flag is presented to Valerie.  

Michael again spoke proudly of his Dad and also thanked everyone for coming to the Memorial Service.  Many came from out of state to attend Uncle Jake’s service.

This is a very peaceful and beautiful cemetery that sits atop a hill.  It overlooks Lake Mountain View.

We all left…..Rest In Peace, Uncle Jake.  You will be greatly missed.

Here are some pictures of some of the folks that attended the service. 

Left to Right:  Marsha, Michael, Mr. & Mrs. Trevino, and Mary.   The Trevinos are close friends of My Uncle.  He told us a story of when he and Jacob were in Vietnam. Neither one knew that they were there. He said he was with the ground troops and Uncle Jake was a helicopter pilot when he and others were picked up after a mission by Uncle Jake.  He and Jake knew each other well, but he had not realized Jake was in Vietnam until Uncle Jake lifted his face gear to show him who he was.   They were so glad to see each other.  They always kept in close contact, even more so after that event.  the Trevinos baptized Michael when he was months old.

Kathy and Manuel…

Jennifer and son, Clayton.

Kathy, Mary and a friend.

Part of Valerie’s family.

more friends.

Our Time With Mary and Kathy

We got to Fort Worth mid afternoon so we went to Kathy’s home to visit with Aunt/Sister Mary.  Mary is my mom’s youngest sister.  She grew up with us since her Mom, my Grandmother, passed away when Mary was 2.  We have always called each other Sister.  Kathy is Mary’s only Daughter.

They took us to dinner at Angelo’s BBQ and it was delicious.  Then we headed to a little tour of Fort Worth.

We made a quick stop at the John F. Kennedy Memorial.  On this spot, Kennedy gave a speech the day before he was assassinated.  This memorial is fairly new.

 

 

  

Beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

After our tour, we met Michael at the hotel.  He had reserved a room for us.

The following are pictures I took on the way to the cemetery.  Lake Mountain Creek.

The Dallas Baptist University is next to the Dallas – Fort Worth National Cemetery.

We had a great visit with Family and want to thank them for their hospitality.