Three Brothers (in Law)

It’s not a requirement to like your brothers-in-law, but it’s a good thing when it happens. I have been blessed with three GREAT brothers-in-law – Shawn, Don, and Jack. In my book, requirement one for any B-I-L is to love and care for your wife and family. All three do/did that and so much more. 

Shawn has been around the longest. He and my sister Tanya married in 1979, about a year and a half after Cath and I. They will be married 45 years this December. Always an easy-going guy, we have shared good times at family gatherings for nearly 50 years. One of my favorite memories of Shawn is when he does his best Clark Griswold impersonation (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) and wears his Blackhawks’ Jersey at Christmas. It’s a great family tradition. He and my wife Cathy have also always had a wonderful relationship as the first two “in-laws” in the Hall family. 

Don married Cathy’s sister Bonnie in 1996. Married to the “Sisters of no Mercy” (Cathy and Bonnie), Don and I always had a a special bond. Keeping up with the sisters, particularly when the four of us were together could be a challenge. The sisters would feed off each other and Don and I just tried to ride the whirlwind. PS – I mean whirlwind in the absolute best sense of the word. ;-). We shared good times together in Virginia and California, along with Alabama and Illinois. Don passed away while surfing in 2019, too young to actually and suddenly be gone. 

Jack married Roberta in December of 2015, after they dated for two years. I sometimes think of Jack as a bottle rocket flashing across the sky. He loved and enjoyed life more than about anyone I know, except maybe my dad. He was always up for a fun time, and the luckiest gambler I ever met. Generous and inclusive, he had friends of all ages. With Jack, if you started the evening as strangers, you were friends by the end of the night. Jack and Berta’s love was both special and comfortable at the same time. When he passed away from brain cancer in 2023, it was another life taken too young. 

For those of us still here, time passes.  It takes time, but we all move on at our own pace, as it should be.   

Yes, three great Brothers-In-Law. Three guys, all different. Three guys who love and loved their wives and families. I am thankful Shawn is still here, and smile at the memories of Don and Jack. I feel lucky to have had all three of them in my life and am a better person for it.