Melody Bateman
One of my fondest memories of Uncle Eddie was from Christmas 1983. Fred and I were driving to my parents in Oreana, Illinois on Christmas Eve when a blizzard struck. When we stopped for lunch in Danville, we found out Interstate 72 was closed. As an added bonus, we discovered that while we ate, the tiny wires in our ignition broke from the cold. We were stranded in Danville for Christmas Eve. Late Christmas Day, Interstate 72 was re-opened, but with no car, we were still stranded. The country roads had not been plowed yet, so my Dad could not make it out to pick us up. Enter my hero, Uncle Eddie. He left his nice warm home and family celebration on Christmas Day to drive 83 miles on snowy, slippery roads to pick us up – just so we wouldnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t have to spend the entire holiday without family. I will always be grateful to Uncle Eddie for the rescue, and I will always miss his quiet voice and chuckle.