15 february 2010, goodbye, ralph

Tuesday 23rd February 2010

At a funeral today, of my uncle – the last of my grandmother martha’s six siblings. Ralph burnett, second generation, stayed in manchester his whole life, apart from being a soldier in italy during the war, where he followed home a pretty girl on a red bike called giovanna, only to be told by her father that if he was really interested he should come back in a year. He was, and he did, and they were married for 64 years after that. Ralph inherited the family textile business, finally passing it on in the nineties, after which it was closed down. As was he, finally, of alzheimers and, though sad, it was the right time to go.