I was 3. I remember the brown metal coffin with the American flag draped over it. In those days the coffin was brought to the family home, where it remained for several days. Being a 3-year-old I didn’t know that adults wept. The family was in agony.

Memorial Day has always been an important day for our family. It is celebrated the last Monday in May and is a day to honor those who died fighting in the United States Armed Forces. It is a holiday of American history and tradition. I am happy to carry on our family’s tradition by going to Evanston each Memorial Day to honor Glenn and most recently, my dad.

Wilson/Goodrick family reunion

This annual reunion will take place over Memorial Day weekend. Four of Uncle Nick Wilson’s remaining six grandsons will be attending this year. Steve Wilson, who lives in Alaska, the oldest at 94, will be bringing four of his children and their families. Tiny Goodrick Jackson will be turning 94 and is coming with her daughter from Idaho. A few are planning to come for the first time.

The family will attend the BarT5 cookout on Friday evening and then enjoy the Old West Days festivities Saturday. They will meet in the Antler Inn’s conference room at 1 p.m. Sunday for food, memorabilia and visiting. Twila Goodrick will be playing her bagpipes at the American Legion Post 43’s ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday on Town Square. All relatives of Nick and Sylvester Wilson are invited to the reunion.

Congratulations are in order

John Simms has been named “Intermountain Skier of the Year.” He will be honored in June at a banquet in Park City, Utah. This honor is in recognition of his contributions to ideas, tools and developments related to avalanche control awareness and safety.

The American Museum of Fly Fishing announced that Paul Bruun is the 2022 Izaak Walton Award honoree. He was chosen because of his many contributions to the sport of fly fishing, which includes writer, guide, industry trailblazer, mentor, conservationist, historian, innovator, humorist and humanitarian. He writes the “Outdoors” column in this newspaper and has done so since 1973. He was the founding editor of the Jackson Hole Daily. He also served as a three-term town councilman.

Ben Blalock, University of Wyoming Foundation president/CEO, will retire June 30. John Stark, UW Foundation senior vice president for development will become the next president/CEO and university vice president for institutional advancement on July 1. The university’s endowment is approaching $1 billion. This is the largest of any of the universities in the Mountain West Conference and larger than some regional institutions with two or three times the student enrollment. John is well known in Jackson, having graduated from Jackson Hole High School in 1982.