I realized recently that Kevin's funeral was the first Ryan family gathering I've ever been to without the "long time ago" speech. Tempted as I was to get up and let my best Kevin impression fly, I wasn't sure how that would be received in mixed company. It was striking though to realize that for all 28+ years of my life, and probably longer, Kevin stood up at every family gathering and told the story of how we all got there. Yes, the speech was often punctuated (heckled) by playful interjections, and calls of "alright can we eat now?" as he waxed poetic on the family lore, but these toasts are probably one of the things I'll miss most about my Uncle. He was actually our family oral historian in those speeches, reminding us of what we were there to celebrate & the people we owed that celebration to, and more than anything I hope we don't let that toast go.
Thanks for this memory Andrew.