Earl's Rock

My Grandma had a brother.  He is my mom's uncle.  He was the youngest of the three children of Alfred and Martha Sullivan.  He was born Earl Eugene Sullivan in September of 1928.  When he was still a baby, he was adopted by his mom's sister and husband, Harry and Alma Allen.  They changed his name to Earl Eugene Allen.  Here he is around age 2.

When he grew a little bigger, he would run down to the end of his street and sit on top of a large rock waiting for his dad to come home from work.  He did this everyday. :)

One day when Earl was almost 6 years old, he was in the family's driveway.  The milkman came with his truck and didn't see little Earl.  Tragically, Earl passed away.  Two days later, Earl was buried in what came to be the family's plot in Wheaton Cemetery, Wheaton Illinois.  The family had Earl's favorite rock moved to the cemetery as a reminder.  Here it is.

Just this month I am writing this (Sept 2016), Earl would have been 88 years old.  My grandma and great-aunt were lovely people. I can't imagine that Earl would have been any less.  I think that my mom and aunts were robbed of having Uncle Earl in their lives, as my grandma was robbed of her brother.  I can't imagine the heartache of Harry and Alma.

Also, sometimes we may look around a cemetery and something may seem out of place.  Why is that large rose bush there?  Why is that lilac tree overgrown?  Why is there a huge rock instead of a headstone?  We don't know the stories behind these things.  They may be very meaningful to the family, just like Earl's rock.