The Eulogy by Jeckle

This is what I said at Hyde's service. The names have been changed, of course.
And the Mr. Wizard named in here is the T.V. persona, not Jeckle's husband.


Less than a year ago, my sister and I wrote, and I delivered, the eulogy
for our father. Naturally we assumed that the next one
to be written and delivered would be for our mother. We never
dreamed that instead it would be for our brother, Hyde. It hasn’t really
even sunk in that he’s gone, and yet, here I am. Each time the phone
rings, we expect it to be him. We keep thinking we need to call him and
let him know what’s happening. It just doesn’t seem like this could be
true.

Our brother, K***, or Hyde as we called him, was first and foremost a devoted
son to our parents. He took care of them during
the last few years that they lived at home, enabling them to stay
there for much longer than they would have been able to otherwise.
This meant a great deal not only to our parents, but also brought some
peace of mind to Jeckle and me as well.

Besides his role as son, he was a brother to both of us, but because of
the differences of our ages, we had very different relationships with him.
He and my sister were closer to each other in age and shared
the early years of their lives. She has often said that she was his “little
helper” for many of his projects, and was always fascinated by his intelligence
and creativity. I came along several years later, and because of
our age difference, we were never as close. But regardless of these differences,
our relationships with him had a profound and lasting effect on
both of our lives.

Hyde had a keen interest in all things scientific, and as a young boy and
teen he was greatly inspired by Mr. Wizard, the kids’ science guru of the
50’s. His interest in math and science later grew into a career in computer
programming. Electronics were an “integral” part of his life.

Hyde also had a keen sense of adventure, and throughout his life he engaged
in such activities as spelunking. He was a member of the University Caving
Club, and took Jeckle & me on caving expeditions. He even took
Mom and her best friend once. It’s hard now to believe we all actually
went! Then there was the time he built a hydroplane from scratch (yes,
that would mean water plane) and he actually took it out for a test drive.
He once took Jeckle on a trip through the drainage system under the
streets of Murville, a trip which not surprisingly ended up at Pistol
Creek. Hyde raised pigeons, brought home bats, filled the wading pool
with crawdads- all the kinds of things my sister found fascinating. She
was especially amazed at the full-size putt-putt course that he built in
the basement and extended out into the yard.

Hyde had many happy times in his life, but throughout most of it he
struggled to cope with his mental illness. Just getting through day-today
life was often a challenge for him, but during the times when he
was doing well, he worked hard to improve his situation in life and his
relationships with others. There were long periods of time when he had
a good job and led a very happy and social life. Then there were periods
when he sunk into deep darkness and everyone became his enemy. He
had a very complex mind, and his life was full of twists and turns and
ups and downs. But one thing we know for sure: it was never boring!

Mac was a complicated man of many facets- loving son and brother, scientist
and inventor, adventurer and risk-taker, a brilliant intellectual, but
he was mostly just a human being trying to find his way in a complicated
world. He wasn’t always successful at that, but he always kept trying.
In some ways we wish he were still able to continue his struggle, but at
least we do know he has finally found peace. He will be greatly missed.