Remembering Uncle Al

In Memory of AP Zinkle

Last month, David and I attended Uncle Al’s funeral service at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Boscobel, Wisconsin. He passed away on Sunday, June 23, 2019. The weather channel was predicting 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Before dawn, we were awakened by extremely loud thunderstorms. To everyone’s relief, the rest of the day turned out to be a much cooler, overcast, and pleasant day.

Most of us accept as fact that all human beings are imperfect. Yet I have been blessed to know of a handful of those whom I consider perfect human beings. Uncle Al was one of those few people. Who was Uncle Al?

He was born on December 2, 1930, a grandson of German immigrants. His full name was Aloysius P. Zinkle. Although he was one of the younger siblings of the ten (that survived birth) in the Zinkle family, he was the one to inherit his father’s namesake. And he remained the loving and caring patriarch of the Zinkle family, both immediate and extended alike.

Most people called him AP. To his nieces and nephews, of which David was one, he was, of course, Uncle Al.

On June 15, 1946, when Uncle Al was 15 years old, one of his older sisters, Lois Mae Katherine Zinkle, married John (Jack) James McKendry. I get the sense that (1) the teenager adored his sister and brother-in-law and (2) the feeling was mutual. Both David’s father (Jack) and Uncle Al loved to sing.

As David recalls his Mom explaining it to him, the two families were so close that when AP married the love of his life, Katie, on July 12, 1952, they started their young married life at Lois and Jack’s home, and/or possibly just Katie stayed with them when Al went off to the Navy during the Korean War. Lois and Jack had three oldest sons by then; Johnny, 5; Davey, 3; and Jimmy, a month old. (Sharon and Gary were yet to be born.)

Uncle Al and Aunt Katie at their wedding

Uncle Al and Aunt Katie on their honeymoon in Jacksonville, Florida

In 1972, shortly after David – along with his bride (yes, that’s me) – came back from Japan, Uncle Al, Aunt Katie, and their children came to visit us at David’s parents’ house – where we were staying – in Rubicon, Wisconsin. I remember being awe-struck by Aunt Katie’s stunning beauty. Even more memorable is how she, along with everyone else, has always treated me as part of the family. I often wondered how they could extend such love and kindness to the daughter of the former enemy nation that bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, just 31 years prior. Today, I have no doubt that the answer lies in their religious faith.

Few of us, who live long enough, are spared of experiencing the loss of loved ones. David’s father (Jack) passed away in 1977 at age 60. Less than a year later, in 1978, his mother (Lois) died. She was only 51 years old.

Uncle Al taking me fishing on the Wisconsin River

After the departures of Jack and Lois McKendry, it was as if Uncle Al made it his mission to become a substitute parent to the young-adult McKendry nephews, niece, their spouses, and children. He extended the unconditional love he had for Lois and Jack to us all who knew him as Uncle Al.

A few years ago, at someone else’s funeral, Uncle Al told me where he’d be buried upon his death. His final resting place is at the Boydtown Cemetery, on a hill, overlooking the Wisconsin River. Knowing how much I loved fishing, whenever David and I visited him, he made it a point to take me on his boat. During every visit, he made me feel so special.

I’m not sure exactly when Uncle Al initiated the annual family reunion but, for the last decade or two, David and I made it a top priority to travel from Michigan to attend the event each year – clearing our calendar no matter how busy. At these reunions, all of Uncle Al’s siblings and their families were invited. It was wonderful to be able to get re-acquainted annually with the large, extended Zinkle-family members.

Uncle Al on his favorite, recently-restored tractor.

At these reunions, Uncle Al loved to sing along with the McKendry kids and others – anyone that could sing, that is. (David and I wisely excused ourselves from singing so as not to ruin their appetite.😂) While putting together this blog, tracing back the history of the Zinkle-McKendry families, I realized just how much Uncle Al must have cherished these moments, singing songs that he used to sing with Jack McKendry, my father-in-law.

From the obituary, I learned so much more about Uncle Al that I did not know.

Above all else, Uncle Al loved unconditionally his wife, each and every one of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. It sounds so cliché but, indeed, his legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of those who loved him. To me, he was an example of a perfect human being.

Postscript: During visitation, copies of the CD – containing 32 pieces of music, performed by Uncle Al, along with family and friends – were handed out by Natosha Zinkle. The song titles were later provided to us by Sharon. Some of them are parodies of the original songs. Uncle Al is a great storyteller. I could not help but notice that many of the songs are Irish; perhaps the influence of Jack McKendry. Prior to posting this blog, David and I enjoyed listening to all of them.

And I especially like #32, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” It was performed at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Neosho, Wisconsin. It starts out with Uncle Al singing, followed by Sharon and Jim (David’s younger siblings). Other immediate family members, who were also a very important part of Uncle Al’s music, include John (guitar) and his wife, Sue (piano); Tom Fritche (Sharon’s husband, vocal and guitar) and their daughter Robin Fritche (vocal). Robin was a baby when Lois McKendry, my mother-in-law, passed away. Robin looks a lot like her maternal grandmother.

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