A man worth remembering

This story brought a tear to my eye. I bet it will for many of you, too.

Our Kentucky-based reporters take turns doing features called "Lives Remembered" based on obituaries we receive. Bill Croyle was struck by one that seemed to suggest the deceased led a very uneventful, obscure life. No family around. No visitation scheduled.

Everyone has a story to tell. And so it was for Charles Cooke, 85, of Erlanger.

Bill's story made me think about my dad. By the time Paul Hetzel died at 89 in 1998, there weren't many of his family and friends around to come to the small funeral. But the local paper took note and wrote a nice story about how he was a founding member of the Hoffman Estates, Ill., Volunteer Fire Department and how he won a Bronze Star during World War II.

Charles Cooke served, too. Like my dad, he was in the Army during WWII. He loved to garden and stayed outside from dawn to dusk. That described my dad, too. Rest in peace guys.