He came through the surgery okay, and sat in his hospital bed, "shootin' the shit and tellin' lies" with his brother Halver last night, and managed to convice his wife to go down to the cafeteria for some dinner.

When she came back with her food, about 15 minutes later, he was gone. From all accounts, he died peacefully, and according to him, he never had any pain from the cancer, which was why it came as such a shock to discover it.

Tomorrow night, I'll raise a pint to my uncle...