Memories of Uncle Darryl

By Robert Vincent

 

I always thought Uncle Darryl was my cool uncle. He was only 18 years older than I, and he was always fun to be around. When Darryl Vincent entered a room, it all of a sudden became a party! He was always quick with a joke or a humorous observation.

 

Darryl had lots of friends and was one of the popular kids when he attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California. In the summertime he was a lifeguard. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, majoring in business. UCSB was a relatively new school having opened in 1944. After earning his degree, Darryl went to work for Proctor and Gamble and he and Aunt Kathy moved to San Diego, California. He worked really hard and advanced quickly with the company. I remember he was under a lot of stress and had a lot of pressure working for P&G. Whenever he would visit our family, he would always provide us with product samples of Crest Toothpaste and Head and Shoulders Shampoo. Darryl had an understanding of band name items that was more important to those of my generation than that of my parents.

 

When I was a preteen, Uncle Darryl and Aunt Kathy bought a brand new two-story house in Brea, California. I thought they were rich! When I was a kid growing up in Burbank there were very few two-story houses and no new houses as the town had been built out after World War II. I have memories of driving from Burbank to Brea with my Grandma Flossie to visit my cousins. Flossie drove a 1959 Peugeot that she had purchased new and named Buttercup. The freeway system was not as it is today so we drove all the way to Orange County on Imperial Highway. Kevin, the baby of the family, had not been born yet so my visits were with Tim and Jeff. My cousins had really cool toys like slot cars and controllers. Uncle Darryl would take us to race at a local track in Brea to race the slot cars. Darryl and Kathy had two dachshunds. I had never seen a dachshund before and I thought they were quite humorous, almost like cartoon characters.

 

In 1965, Darryl bought a brand new Red Mustang GT. This was the first year that Ford began production of the mustang. Uncle Darryl didn’t just buy a new mustang; he bought the racy GT model with a four speed manual transmission and cool racing stripes! I remember a few years later him telling us of how they had loaded up the mustang for a summer vacation with three kids (Kevin was the newest Vincent) and next to no trunk space. Shortly after leaving their Brea home on a hot summer day, they had a flat tire. The spare tire was at the bottom of the trunk, so Darryl had to unload all of the luggage they had crammed into the small trunk, to change the tire.

 

In the late 1970’s I remember Darryl telling us on one of his many visits to Burbank to visit his mother, Flossie, about bar codes and how they were going to change retail. With in a few months we saw the installation of bar code scanners at our local Alpha Beta Market on Lyons Avenue in Valencia. Bar codes would later indeed revolutionize retail and marketing.

 

When I was in my 30’s and working as the Director of Student Activities at Canyon High School, I would spend several weeks each summer working with student leaders from throughout California at the California Association of Directors of Activities Leadership Camp. Darryl used to love accusing me of being a lifeguard a cheerleading camp.

 

Throughout the 1980’s, 90’s and even into the 2000’s Darryl organized family reunions for his sister Marge, brothers Frank and Herb, and their spouses. They traveled through out the United States enjoying each other’s company, and creating memories that they cherished. After his siblings became too old to travel, Darryl hosted weekly Saturday morning conference calls so that they all could stay in touch.

 

Darryl was an early adopter of anything that was cool and involved technology. He always had the latest cars, cameras, video cameras, computers etc.

 

Darryl loved his family and always looked forward to their yearly family reunions in Texas and Florida. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather and was known by all for his quick wit, friendliness and generosity. Darryl was an avid golfer, reader and a man of great intellect. He had countless friends and was always the life of the party. Darryl was also a child advocate, a man of God, and a faithful member of the Catholic Church. He lived his faith daily by assisting others whenever possible.