Remembering Uncle Clyde...



Clyde Savage
October 15, 1938-September 9, 1996

 15 years ago today, one of the most important men in my life left this world for what I like to believe is a better one. Clyde Savage was my maternal grandfather's brother. He was a loving son, father, husband and brother. He was a friend to many. He was a leader and music director in his church. He was a manager at his job and a military veteran. For me, he was so much more than just the great-uncle that lived next door.

Growing up, I had a front row seat to his kind nature and selfless generosity. He was the kind of guy that would always lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it, whether they asked for help or not. As a natural handyman, he often fixed things for people. He didn't ask them for anything in return. He just wanted you to pay it forward.

Uncle Clyde with his brother
(my grandfather) Bobby

Of all the things I remember most distinctly (and often miss the most) was his laugh. He had a deep, hearty, from the gut laugh. There were times that sitting in our living room, we could actually hear him laughing in his own living room. (and we lived in the country, so we weren't that close!) When I think of him, that laugh helps soothe the deep absence I feel without him here.

As the years have passed, his absence has grown stronger for me. Time hasn't healed my wound. Logically, I know he is in a better place, called home for a purpose. But it hasn't made me miss him less. I often think about how much he would have loved his grandchildren. I think about how much he would have loved my own children. I also think about the important lessons he could have taught them.

Give of your time. Uncle Clyde believed that the time you spent with people and helping them mattered. He helped coach ball at school, he volunteered at church, took time to teach me how to ride a bike and shoot a basketball. When my Dad was so busy at the farm, Uncle Clyde would cut our grass. He looked out for Chrissy and me and spent time with us when our Dad couldn't. Not because anyone asked him to, it was just his way of helping where he could.

Uncle Clyde and Aunt Linda
with their son Tony

Be honest. Chrissy and I had a golf cart and we liked to ride it everywhere, including all over Aunt Linda and Uncle Clyde's yard. One day, Chrissy backed into his truck and left a major dent. She made me swear I wouldn't tell. Being afraid of her like I was, I didn't tell a soul. A week or so later, Uncle Clyde came over to the house and asked us if we hit his truck. Chrissy shot a look at me. "Nope" was my response. He responded, "Well I know you hit my truck because I saw you do it. I am not mad about the dent, but I am so disappointed in you for not coming to tell me about it and then lying about it." Boy were Chrissy and I in a heaping pile of trouble with our parents. But the punishment we got didn't bother me as much as knowing I had disappointed him. At 8 years old, I learned the value and importance of honesty--and it's the one thing I value most in others.

Uncle Clyde with my Mom
June 1961

Share your heart and passion with others. Uncle Clyde's mother knew scripture better than anyone else I have ever met. She could quote The Bible from cover to cover. She loved hymns. Uncle Clyde had that love too. And the Lord blessed him with a beautiful voice. Every hymn that I love today is one that when I hear it, in my heart, I feel his voice singing it. "How Great Thou Art," "When We All Get to Heaven," "The Old Rugged Cross," "Majesty." Of course, my favorite, and the one he sang best (especially with the accompaniment of his sister, Carol) was "Because He Lives." He shared his love and passion for music with others. He shared his heart through music.

Be your best self. Uncle Clyde and I had a conversation not long before he died about my future.  He wanted to know what I wanted to do with my life. At 14, I barely had a clue. He encouraged me to get as much education as possible. He urged me to follow every dream; to reach as far as I could in my imagination and when I thought I had reached the end point, reach a little further. He told me to always strive to be my best self. To never be too good or to proud to be humble. To give more to others than I was willing to take for myself. To pay back every generosity I received with even greater kindness.


Aunt Linda and Uncle Clyde with
their nephew Kenny & his children
(next to Uncle Clyde) and their son Todd.
Kenny lived with them growing up.
June 1995

 Rely on your faith for everything. The greatest gift my Uncle Clyde and Aunt Linda ever gave to me was the car ride to church every Sunday. They took me to Sunday school and church with them every week from the time I was very little. My Uncle wore his faith on his sleeve and was never afraid to let people know that his heart belonged to Jesus. It was important to him to know that your heart belonged to Jesus too. He would always tell me, "Daughter, you've got to trust in God with all your heart. He will direct your path. Just have faith in Him." Because of him and his constant counsel, I am a Christian. I was baptized just a few shorts months before he died. There have been many times when my questions were greater than my answers, when I didn't have the faith to see things through. In those moments, his words have always come back to me, pushing me to trust a little more, be patient a little longer, give God's time a chance to work things out.


Uncle Clyde's family
Back row: Todd, my Grandfather, Tony
Front: Leslie w/Talyn, Brewer, my grandmother,
Ansley & Aunt Linda.

These are his lessons. These and so many more. And as I have taken the time to put this reflection into words, I am sad. I am sad that he didn't live longer. I am sad that he has been gone from my life longer now than he was in it. I am sad that he isn't here to see what a lasting impression he made on my life. I am sad that I can't hear him sing or listen to him laugh. I am sad that my children will never know the warmth of his embrace or the brightness of his smile. I am sad that his wife and his children and his grandchildren were deprived of years of memories. I am sad that it is true that the good die young. But in my tears, there is gratitude for what he taught me, I'm sure without even realizing he was doing it. There is peace in knowing that I will see him again. There is determination to ensure that his legacy does not die. I want him to live on in the hearts of those who were blessed to know him. Honesty, compassion, faith and love. We will pass them on.


Grandchildren Brewer, Ansley
& Talyn with Aunt Linda







Uncle Clyde with his sibling and Mom
Back: Bobby, Nita, their mother Beulah & Legare
Front: Betty, Clyde & Carol