Yesterday morning family and friends gathered to share memories and pay tribute to a very wonderful man. My great uncle Billy passed away December 10, 2013 at the age of 77. Though we all would have wanted many more years with him, his body was tired and it was his time.

Uncle Billy is my maternal grandmother's little brother. His children (Jeanine, Valerie, Lori and Kelli shown with him above) are close in age to me and my siblings, so we played together a lot in our youth at family gatherings. But because he was my grandma's brother and because I was very young when the last of my grandpas died, I always thought of him as a "grandparent" to me.

Uncle Billy was always present in my life the way a grandparent would be. He came to many family events. In fact, it became tradition for him to join us Christmas Eve to celebrate Christmas – from my youth as a teen to recent years at our current house, with my boys. And when he couldn't stay, he'd at least pop in to give his hand-crafted gifts.

He wrote letters to me when I was in college in northern Minnesota and when I lived far from home in California. I'm not sure if I ever told him how much that meant to me. Those letters really helped me when I was feeling homesick. He even came out with my parents after my four years out there to help me move back home to Minnesota  – we managed to get all my belongings into my car, my parents' vehicle and his truck. (And I had a LOT of stuff, so this was an amazing feat!)

That's who he was – a giver. He gave and never expected anything in return. His heart was pure, and full of love. And… he was a true Santa. His "workshop" (his entire living space) was always full of sawdust and some project he was working on to give to others. He of course always had handmade gifts at Christmas time (wooden elves, dollhouses, model trucks, homemade Kaluha, Santa cookies, loaves of bread, ornaments, outhouses, etc.), but he never stopped crafting, and sent boxes of his goods to schools, churches, hospitals, etc., all year 'round. He had a passion for sharing stories of yesteryear and family history. He also entertained others with his local newspaper-published illustrations and articles recounting memories of his childhood in the '40s.

Today on my blog I am sharing just a few of Uncle Billy's handcrafted work. Here is our popcicle stick sled ornament.

His paintbrush was always the toothpick! That's how he added such detailed painted designs to his projects.

Billy was always surprising us with something new. This project – Christmas lights in a wine bottle – didn't show off his artistic talents as much, but it was a fun and clever gift. And he would crack us up with jokes about all the wine he had to drink to get them made for everyone.

The infamous elves! Acorn hats, wooden bodies, felt and pompom accents…Uncle Billy used to ship boxes of these unassembled elves to classrooms all over the U.S. My students were making these even when I taught in California in the early '90s. This was the gift we were all given at the memorial service yesterdat. I'm guessing he had been planning to send out more shipments of these this holiday season.

Many wonderful memories were shared Friday. Here is a man who impacted so many in such a positive way – an angel on earth.

You are greatly loved and will be so missed, Uncle Billy. Rest in peace.

Stamp Your Art Out! ~Rachel