Happy Birthday to Uncle Bud

To All,
Today, Feb. 19, would have been Uncle Bud Jonas' 89th birthday. At a memorial mass for him in Milwaukee on Jan. 3, his oldest and youngest sons took a novel approach to delivering his eulogy. Jim and Paul Jonas read Bible quotes and then told stories about how their father lived up to the message in those readings. Their sister Jane (Jonas) Williams send me the script of the eulogy for me to share with all of you.
Continued best wishes for Bud's family and the family of Aunt Betty.
Love,
Robert Mullins

Dad’s Blue Eyes
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
That verse reflects our father’s philosophy of life and faith. He knew his life was
unfolding according to God’s plan. He was on the path; a path he never secondguessed.
He believed that it was one’s responsibility to identify and develop the gifts
that God gave to you as an individual. When you were able to take care of yourself;
you were tasked to reach out and share your blessings; to open your circle and accept
responsibility for the people and events that become your life. Dad never told us this,
he showed us this.
In 1948 Dad married our mother, Teresa McCorry and their partnership was the
foundation of our lives. They baptized each of us in this church, and sent us to Catholic
school(s). Education was valued. They did not ask us to think like them; they just
asked us to think.
Together, they shared responsibility for us: ALL of us, training us and accepting us,
feeding us, ‘loving’ us. As the decades passed, (they raised teenagers in the 60’s, 70’s
and 80’s), their commitment helped us find our own gifts, our own strengths, that are
the tools of our life journey.
In Romans 12 we read:
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is
prophesy, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve;
if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is
contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let
him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Our father was a gentle man and a gentleman. He did so many things and made
it look easy, probably because he derived pleasure from all he did. He fulfilled his
obligations day in and day out, for years on end. He did so without particular recognition
and without complaint. His reward was being useful. He worked hard and took great
personal pride in his accomplishments. He took seriously his role as provider and
teacher. His family had all that they needed and he taught his children, through his
actions, to be self-sufficient, honest, loving, and thoughtful people. He was proud of
his family: his wife and children, his parents, his brother and sisters and the many
cousins. He relished their accomplishments, witnessed many, and was always there
with congratulations.
Over these many years, we have been inspired by all that he was: a man, a parent, a
provider, a protector, a competitor, a caregiver, a teacher, a friend, and to our mother, a
life partner. We should be so lucky.
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I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while
they live. Ecclesiastes 3:12
Our dad was born in 1923 and grew up during The Depression. He told a story of
roasting potatoes in a bonfire below the bluff on the lakefront. To him that was a simple
pleasure; an opportunity to make something fun from nothing; a night with friends who
had nothing but a potato to share; making the best of what you had; turning nothing into
something.
This story illustrates the light that was the essence of our father. Everyone who is here
today experienced that light. It was a light that, aside from guiding as husband and
father, illuminated far beyond to affect family and friends and neighbors and colleagues.
He knew that life was God’s gift and he appreciated it’s simple pleasures. He was
truly happy and content. There was a warmth about him; a quiet self-assurance and
a faith in the joy of life. He was always looking forward, always ready to greet the new
day whether that entailed playing a round of golf or painting the house. Dad was the
catalyst for numerous annual events and reunions which have become important family
traditions. The cousins picnic and the Thanksgiving football game are examples of
‘simple things’ that give us pleasure.
Dad was a giver; always willing to share. He was aware of you, thinking about you,
what you needed, how you felt. It was about what he could do in addition to what
was needed or expected, in order to bring something new and special to each person
he encountered, whether you were a professional client or a friend who came to play
with one of his children. It was his sincerity that set him apart. It was the thing you
remembered. It was the reason you enjoyed his company.
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be
full of light. Matthew 6:22
There was a light. A light that shone from Dad’s blue eyes that was only outshone by
his smile that drove them from his face. What a great gift: a pair of eyes so pure as to
focus on simple pleasures, to instill expectation without blame or judgement, to overlook
fault to see goodness and kindness.
Though we will dearly miss that light . Let us be thankful for its presence and our good
fortune of having experienced it for the nearly 90 years. It was those eyes and that
experience that brings us, his many friends and family, here today. U.C. Jonas Jr., you
will be long remembered.
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