I am walking with Team Roy in memory of my Uncle Pete whom my family and I lost June 2014 to colon cancer. 

Everyone knows him as Roy or Buck, but to me, he was my Uncle Pete. Everytime I think of this amazing man, a new memory comes to the surface that always seems to make me smile. He was such an incredible person. I got to be quite fortunate to get to know him even better than I had in the last few months of his life, and for that I am grateful. I got to know my uncle just a little bit better before he passed.

Some of my fondest memories of him always make me smile. Like him playing the bagpipes when he was studying our family heritage or the jokes my sister and I would play on him when we were much younger (mixing sodas was apparently not a good idea, nor was ice packs on the bottom of his feet when he was sleeping). As I got older, I loved the conversations I would have him. Whether we were talking about genetically modifed foods (I am science teacher) or the state of the country, I soaked it all in. I missed those talks we would have. I loved hearing him sing. It would always bring a tear to my eyes because I would be so moved. I can remember all the drives to Duke and he would be singing all the way there. I loved it.