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By Bob Murdock Malcolm, my uncle, departed from this life Sept. 14, 2003. We are collecting remembrances from anyone who knew him. Viewers are invited to add their own thoughts. See note at the end. From Barbara DiStefano, niece: Thanks for letting us know about Mal. I adored him when I was a child/adolescent. What a nice picture (of Mal with Ona). From Priscilla Januskiewicz, niece (Nov. 16, 2003): When Ona’s younger brother was born in 1918, a name had not yet been chosen for the fifth child of Allen and Idella. Ona says that a neighbor lady, who was there to help, suggested the name, Malcolm, and the family approved. Today, at age 92, Ona still remembers Malcolm as her “baby brother.” He was seven years younger than she, and it was her job, when he was a toddler, to get him up and dressed in the morning. Coming out of their cold, upstairs bedrooms, (they had no central heat) the children loved to straddle the stairway banister, zip down and around the bend and then jump off, dashing to the warm space behind the kitchen stove. Nearby was a big box full of chopped wood, ready for burning. The box had a hinged cover which, when it was closed, was a perfect (and warm) place for Malcolm to stand while he was being dressed. In those days, on dark winter mornings, the children dressed by candlelight since they did not yet have electricity in their home. The years passed quickly, and the children grew up, married and had families of their own. Last year in November of 2002, even though he was quite ill, Mal came east from Arizona and visited his sister, Ona, at her daughter’s home in Nashua, NH. They sat on the couch together and talked for a long while. They shared some laughs and then hugged and kissed for the last time as they said their final “good-byes.” Ona has some nice photos to remind her of that last visit with her “baby brother.” From Bob Murdock, nephew: Nancy and I were delighted to see Uncle Mal in late 1996 when he attended the memorial service for my mother in Gardner, Mass. At the reception later in Hubbardston, we chatted with him. He said he had written some poetry, and showed us a newspaper clipping about it. He also said "I was hoping Gene would be here." Well, the next time we saw Mal Gene was there, at the May 2002 family reunion in Vermont. Gene enjoyed chatting with his uncle, and so did I. And it was just wonderful to see four of Mal's children: Tom, Judi, Penny, and Peter. In December 1986 Nancy and I completed Volume 1 of our memoirs. "A Tale of Two Childhoods." On the page I wrote about uncles, here is what I said about Mal: What do I remember about Malcolm, the youngest Charlton? He had twinkling eyes, a family heritage. When he outgrew his bicycle, I had hoped he would bequeath it to me. Outside of that, he always treated me kindly. I don't know how many girlfriends or wives he had, but I remember his wife Lucy, of French persuasion. She was a character, full of zippety-do-dah. I don't have much recollection about any of Mal's children except Tommy, the oldest. He seemed pretty bright. |
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