Eulogy For A Positive Influence On A Person's Life

Everyone has someone in their life who inspires them in some way. For me, it’s my uncle Nick. Kind, loving, and fun, he is the reason I aspire to live the best life I can live. He made me realize how important family was, and how to have a positive impact on the people around you. Everywhere he went he became best friends with everyone. He could walk into a party and not know a single person, and leave being the most known person there. Some people just have that way about them, and Nick was one of them. Unlike Nick, I don’t share his endless abundance of confidence and crecedence that strangers will accept me, but I do share his love of life. Whether it was talking about the Brewers, or hunting, or riding his Harley, he did it with passion.
And usually, it’s just a parade of unspecified relatives asking me the same bland questions about school, or commenting on how quiet I am, which is apparently a stark contrast to the rest of the Stuttgen family. Nick did no such thing. I remember him holding me upside down, which I know sounds like child abuse but six year old me thought it was the best thing ever. He bought me my first gumball, and brought me to my first baseball game. His wedding was the first wedding I had ever been in. He isn’t just my uncle, or my godfather, he’s the person that taught me to love baseball and love being
I’m reminded every Christmas when I get another pearl from him for the necklace I’ll wear on my wedding day. I guess before he died he had bought a bunch of them. I’m also reminded in my cousins, who are almost carbon copies of him. Little things make me remember him, and the little things inspire me to be more like him, someone who is kind to strangers, cares deeply for family and friends, and can have a positive impact on the lives of others. He was an incredible person, and I hope that someday I can be half the person he was, and have that kind of impact on even one