I would like to say a few words about my brother Paul Dallas Marckx. He was only 18 months older than me and we shared a lot of life together by the time he died at the age of 67. I understand that when I was born he wasn’t very happy about it, losing his somewhat prized place in the family of the youngest of five (then six) children. He never quite let me forget that, but he also enjoyed having someone younger to dominate. However, I can remember every single time he showed me special kindnesses – teaching me how to play marbles in the schoolyard on my first day of school; rushing me to the doctor when I had a serious infection after I had all my wisdom teeth pulled; offering me protection from a bullying boyfriend. These kindnesses grew more and more frequently as we grew older. Long before he left us, he was one of the dearest people to me in the world. Paul had been battling alcoholism for some time when he left us. But before then, he had lots of love, fun, adventures, hard work and accomplishments in his life. He approached most challenges with humor and physical and mental vigor. He fought his demons vigorously, too, but probably not in the best way to sustain his health. He could never quite shut out the deep shadows and dark times from his youth. The dark times contributed to his battle with his addiction. He had a very difficult time sharing the depth of those shadows. Everyone who loved him forgave him his alcohol-induced failures, but he couldn't seem to climb the out of the hole of despair, nor could he ask for help in doing so. It conquered him in the end. He will be greatly missed by his family, who choose to remember the generous, funny, compassionate, fiercely independent soul he will always be.
I would like to say a few words about my brother Paul Dallas Marckx. He was only 18 months older than me and we shared a lot of life together by the time he died at the age of 67. I understand that when I was born he wasn’t very happy about it, losing his somewhat prized place in the family of the youngest of five (then six) children. He never quite let me forget that, but he also enjoyed having someone younger to dominate. However, I can remember every single time he showed me special kindnesses – teaching me how to play marbles in the schoolyard on my first day of school; rushing me to the doctor when I had a serious infection after I had all my wisdom teeth pulled; offering me protection from a bullying boyfriend. These kindnesses grew more and more frequently as we grew older. Long before he left us, he was one of the dearest people to me in the world. Paul had been battling alcoholism for some time when he left us. But before then, he had lots of love, fun, adventures, hard work and accomplishments in his life. He approached most challenges with humor and physical and mental vigor. He fought his demons vigorously, too, but probably not in the best way to sustain his health. He could never quite shut out the deep shadows and dark times from his youth. The dark times contributed to his battle with his addiction. He had a very difficult time sharing the depth of those shadows. Everyone who loved him forgave him his alcohol-induced failures, but he couldn't seem to climb the out of the hole of despair, nor could he ask for help in doing so. It conquered him in the end. He will be greatly missed by his family, who choose to remember the generous, funny, compassionate, fiercely independent soul he will always be.
