Last week my grandpa, Albert Wirkes, passed away. As a child I loved him like most boys love their grandparents. I loved him unconditionally and without much thought to whom he really was. But as I became an adult I started to pay more attention. The last few years taught me that he was a man to look up to. I want to share with you a few of the details about my Grandpa that are important to me. I think they say something about who he was and the life he lived.
An accident at birth left him to live the rest of his life with only one eye. Though it could have, he didn't let that stop him from serving our country during WWII. He joined the Army Medical Corps and was stationed in Florida and England. In Florida he chose to serve in the African American unit of the hospital at a time when others wouldn't. He observed segregation and racism that he would never forget and never understand.
Grandpa was lucky enough to find true love twice. His fist wife, Carol, passed before I was born. His second wife, Patty, was the Grandma that I knew. He cared for them both in health and in sickness, and set an example of what it means to be a true husband.
So what was he like as a grandfather? He excelled there, too. I don't remember him ever loosing his temper or speaking badly of others. When he was present it always seemed to make a family gathering official. And you knew that he was proud to be a part of his family. Grandpa was funny and he loved to tell stories, most of them tall-tales about himself. The best ones never seemed to finish as they were constantly interrupted by laughter, which was often his own. Grandpa always had a smile for others and a smart line to make you laugh.
These are only a few of my thoughts, but I hope they help to say a little about who he was. Grandpa Al is now gone, but he lived a good life and touched many people with his service, humor, and love.
Maria and Juan invited me to photograph their Syracuse wedding. They had already been married for a year or so in the Dominican Republic were Juan is from, but they have recently moved to Central New York and wanted another ceremony. There baby is soon on its way!
Major is now One year old! I've had the pleasure of photographing him twice before this, and it has been great to watch him grow. His birthday party was a lot of fun and a new kind of photographic challenge for me. I tried to get right in the mix of things and photograph as much as I could from a low angle. Happy Birthday Major.
That's my sister Lindsay with her new baby boy, Hundson Nathaniel Angell. He was four weeks early, but still weighted 8 pounds 2 ounces. I took these photos after Hudson had just came home from the hospital a couple hours earlier. I plan on taking lots of photos of him through the years.
