More Fun Than Sorrow

For years, Jack Rupert entertained members of Lake Writers with his stories about being a kid in the 1930s, about being in the service, and about his adventures as a retiree at Smith Mountain Lake.

Jack reads one of his stories at a Lake Writers meeting.

We laughed about his experiences and told him he publish these for others. He did, in his blog, Jack the SMLaker.

Not only did Jack tell funny stories, he did funny stuff. Last summer, when I had foot problems, Jack lent me a cane. Not just any cane—a really unique one. I blogged about it here.

Jack never recovered from complications from his heart surgery last summer. He died Monday afternoon, surrounded by his family. This morning, a huge crowd attended Jack’s memorial service. Most of us picked up copies one of his last essays, “A Voice From the Urn.” It begins:

Thank you all for coming for Shirl, My Honey of 56-plus years, and my family. What a love and gift from God My Honey was to me. Our 22 member family is my delight. They are wonderful children and grandchildren. They turned out better than I could have hoped. This is all My Honey’s doing.

My desire is for the children to realize that they are each other’s best friends and nothold any old hostile childhood memories, but instead, turn them into humor from childhood.

And he goes on to tell a story about himself. And more.

Among the pictures of Jack at his memorial service were several quotations of things he said. Like this one:

Humor is more fun than sorrow.

—Jack Rupert (April 1, 2008)
Jack Burns Rupert (February 25, 1929—April 7, 2008)

We’ll miss your stories, Jack. We'll miss you.