Dear John;

Sorry I missed your passing.  But I sure have fond memories of our time together.  I guess my most memorable times are back on the farm in Illinois.  Mom and Dad would bring me over from Indiana to stay with Aunt Julia for a few weeks in the summer and there you were eager to show me the ways of the world.  I remember my first visit most clearly.  I was only eight and you were twelve, almost a grown adult in my eyes.

After dinner one night you said we needed to go out back and slop the hogs. I had no idea what that meant, but you showed me.  We carried out all the food scraps from the day, potato peelings, green bean ends, plate scrapings, gravy and put them in a large metal container with other such items.  You added some water and then said, OK stir it up.  I didn't know what to do but you dove in with both arms to the elbow and thoroughly mixed the mess.  That was quite a shock to a city boy.  But those hogs sure enjoyed it.

Another time you said we needed to go gather the black walnuts.  So we went out in the woods with buckets and picked up all the walnuts we could find.  We then sat on the ground and removed those black squishy hulls.  That sure made a mess.  By the time we were were done I had walnut stain all over myself and my clothes.  That sure made Mom mad.  But you got a big laugh out of it.

One day your dad said you needed to go out to the orchard and pick apples.  You told me that you would give me a gift if I would help you.  So I did in great anticipation.  When we finished I asked about my gift.  You spotted a small fir tree about six inches tall, dug it up and gave it to me.  I took care of that tree, carried it home in a Dixie cup and planted it in our back yard near the swing.  That tree survived, thrived even.  It grew and grew until it got into the telephone wires and the phone company took it down.

Those were good times and a big part of my growing up.  I thank you for it and will think of you fondly for the rest of my life.



Graveside Inurnment Service

Dorsey - E. Earl Smith Funeral Home and Lake Worth Memory Gardens

John Munger Jr.

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John E. Munger Jr.

12 April, 1938 – 7 May, 2021

Dorsey - E. Earl Smith Funeral Home and Lake Worth Memory Gardens

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