Obituaries

I feel so fortunate to reconnect with my Aunt Audrey years ago. My husband and I made the trip to her cozy little house, tucked into the woods, in Black River Falls and were greeted by a friendly little dog and the aunt that I always admired. She was wearing her all so familiar funky glasses that I always thought were a class act. She was a class act. Not in a high society way but in a down to earth charismatic way. We reminisced about the past, caught up on the present, and dabbled in the future for hours. Her kindness was heartfelt. I will miss the Christmas letters we shared for many years. RIP Aunt Audrey Love always, Linda (Liebhaber) Sahlgren

Welcome. Thank you for coming here today I want to start by stating what we probably all know already. Mom was a simple person. She liked simple things in life. Oh, sure she talked about wanting more and wishing she had more sometimes, don't we all. She did get to enjoy so many amazing things like Hawaii, (Twice) Elvis Presley concert live, travels to the west coast (Seattle) and North Carolina etc. One of her cherished memories was a rodeo she attended in Colorado. She was always a fan of the west and westerns on TV. Both her and dad were. In her last days, she just wanted to watch Gunsmoke. 😊 She always encouraged her kids to go after their dreams. Take that trip, explore the state or the job that sounded interesting, or the career path that sounded exciting. She was so proud of Kandy, Cheer leader, good student, and had so many friends in high school. She competed in gymnastics and until her health turned, she was such a great example of humor and was a positive life loving person. Her laugh was infectious. Connie was quiet, yet talented with respect to her passions and desires. She also was a cheerleader for St Peters. Connie also had so many solid friends and genuine relationships with those whose lives she touched. She was the first to venture out when she took a job at United Airlines, moved to Colorado and eventually met the love of her life with Bru. Darren was the accountant, the financial guy. The dreamer, the planner, the goal setter. He touched so many with his quiet charm and wit. He embraced academics and was the first one in our family to go to college. Performed with the New College singers, crooned like Elvis and went on to experience so many wonderful life pleasures as he grew in his career. Craig was a fun-loving kid that tried everything from FFA to nontraditional high school academics. Harvested his first buck that was bigger than anything the rest of us had the pleasure of harvesting All while dangling his feet off a cast iron platform that Dad made. His infectious humor and laughter made me wonder if he was the guy that missed his calling on stage in the comedic world or as a singer too. He owned his own business for almost 30 years and worked his butt off to become a self-made man. Why do I talk about her kids on this day? Because if mom was anything, she was an awesome stay at home Mom. She loved being there when her kids needed her. She talked and really listened to what they had to say. She listened and responded with empathy and that gave her kids confidence as they prepared to become adults. She didn't raise children, she raised Adults. She believed in every one of her kids. She believed every story and every passionate plea to be believed, even when sometimes they probably should not have been. 😊 Like the many the many occasions when skip notices were sent home and I tirelessly tried to convince my mom that they were wrong because I was always in class, and they just must not have seen me those days.!! After the kids started moving out it took a toll on mom, as I suppose it can with moms sometimes. She always said she was so happy to have some "Me" time as her kids started to move out and explore that great big world out there. Mom would say "It was time for her and dad now." Even after the kids started moving out, there was nothing more special than Sunday's dinners. Pot roast, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, a vegetable etc. All followed up with a dessert like Strawberry short cake, or pudding, Jello a chocolate Cake. Maybe some Congo bars, my personal favorite, oh those were so good. Even after we moved out, we always knew there would be a hot meal with family talk on Sundays. Whether we could make it or not, we knew it was always there. We all have our memories of mom growing up. One of my favorites was coming home from a week Deer hunting. The house was clean and decorated to the nines for Christmas. The beds had clean sheets and once Dad installed the Franklin stoves there was always a fire in the fireplace, and nothing was more welcoming. There was peace on earth at the Uhl residence and goodwill to all. Mom was the kind that would make supper for everyone and those of us that weren't home because of Cheerleading practice, or football practice or maybe dance, or just goofing of late with friends, she would prepare a pie tin with the meal from the evening dinner and wrap it in foil, keep it warm in the oven so we had a nice meal when we eventually did get home. Many a time, usually on a Sunday night, and I was notorious for this, she was the one to stop what she was doing relaxing and enjoying some peace time because all of a sudden I would remember I had an assignment due on Monday morning and panicked because even though I had all weekend to do it I waited until Sunday night at bedtime to get serious about it. Getting sick...Oh my gosh, when any of us got sick, Mom would make sure we were set up on the living room sofa, (Couch as it's called only in Wisconsin I think) warm and comfortable. She waited on you better than any hospital or urgent care. Your wish was her command. To the point when even after I moved out, I was so bummed when I got sick as an adult, the first thing I wanted to do was go home so mom could take care of me. Boy that was a reality check when I was miserable and had to take care of myself. There was nothing like mom's critical care. 😊 How do we remember? We can choose to be sad today, and there will be moments when we don't have a choice, we will be sad anyway. We can also choose to savor the memories of Mom. Audrey Uhl, the Neighborhood mom. The one that was always home. Home for other moms when they could not get home to take care of their sick child, or home when the kids from the neighborhood got home too early on a given day so they needed to have a safe place to hang until their mom or dad got home. Our mom was the one. Our mom was the kind of mom that many of my friends came to see. I used to fool myself and think my friends would come over to hang out with me. My friends knew that many times I closed Kellys food joint on Friday night and wouldn't get home till after midnight. That didn't matter. They'd come down to the house early on a Saturday knowing full well I'd be sleeping so they'd have a one- or two-hour conversation with mom until I got my lazy behind up out of bed. That was our mom, she loved us and our friends. Her life passion was being a mom. In my mind she set the bar for what a mom should be for kids as we were growing up. We honor her life today. She is not with us, but so many good memories are with us, and they can never be taken away. We have choices in this world. We can choose to embrace the positive and the good in people by cherishing and recalling the good in them. That's what Audreys kids are choosing today. We love you mom, and we know you knew that in your final days before you joined Dad in his loving arms. Our family would also like to thank our brother Darren. For the last seven years he has dedicated his life, profound love and devotion to taking care of mom. In her waning years he prepared her meals, encouraged her to take the meds she needed and provided companionship for mom. Words alone can never be enough to show our gratitude. She was truly blessed to have her loving son at her side. A brief prayer for this day: Gracious Spirit, creator of life, carrier of hope, make your presence known among us. Enable us to be brave in our remembering, honest in our sorrow and open in love and compassion to each other. Help us to seek not so much answers to our questions, but rather, the patience to mourn and grieve. Enable us to remember with joy the lives of those we have loved. Send us your peace. Amen On Behalf of the Uhl, and McMartin Family, may God Bless us all.