Aunt Louise Laid To Rest

Tuesday morning was Aunt Louise’s funeral.  It was a very nice service with a luncheon afterwards….Minnesota funeral food; lettuce salad, scalloped potatoes, ham, dill pickles,  crusty bread and all kind of bars.

Aunt Louise was a heck of a bread baker we always enjoyed when she shared a loaf of bread with us.  I recall one day years ago when Far Guy’s Mom was alive Willard and Louise were visiting her in the Nursing Home and someone mentioned fresh bread…a little old lady came over and said “That is one thing I miss…fresh baked bread.”  Well you can guess that planted a seed in a bread bakers mind and a few days later fresh bread was delivered to that little old lady. Years later when Far Guy was at his Mom’s bedside for days…loaves of bread were delivered for him to bring home… comfort food from a special aunt.

After lunch we left town and drove the 15 miles to the cemetery…a number of cars pulled to the side of the road and waited for the procession to pass by.

Funeral procession

She was laid to rest next to her husband.  We have a plot in the same row as does Alaska Guy.  Family has to stick together.

Last Aunt

It rained most of the day yesterday…and it wasn’t very warm either.

It kinda matched our mood.  Into every life a little rain must fall.  We stopped and picked out funeral flowers…yellow and light orange roses.  We attended the Funeral Home Visitation for Far Guy’s last Aunt….our flowers were there along with many others.  She loved flowers all of her life…and has many beautiful bouquets to mark her passing on. In her younger years her gardens were a sight to behold. 

I have heard that saying “If you love me bring me flowers when I am alive instead of when I am dead.”  I think she would have replied…I will take flowers when ever I get them!

Far Guy still has one uncle that is living on his Dad’s side of the family. He is now the “older generation” on his Mom’s side of the family.

Aunt Louise has struggled with health issues all summer…she has been in the Nursing Home since spring….now it is fall and she has died. She was 88 years old. We had a good visit with her in mid summer…her laugh was distinctive…we talked about her much loved husband who died in 2012 and her children.  She and her husband had seven children…one is Alaska Guy who is the same age as Far Guy.  He has been here most of the summer caring for his Mom. Sharon was here earlier in the summer…I missed seeing her…she and I were just a year apart in age and spent many childhood days together.

Rest In Peace Aunt Louise.

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

 

A Simple Question

A number of years ago Far Guy's Mother was in the Nursing Home. She preferred to eat her meals in her room, we encouraged her to eat with her group at meal times. In doing so we would try to schedule a visit around the noon or the evening meal. She struggled with the food, I admit sometimes it looked very unappetizing. Her table mates were Blanche and Betty, when we would wheel her out to her table the "Girls" would greet her warmly. So we would hang out and talk to the "girls" and encourage Far Guys Mom to eat. If she ate she felt better, if she drank her milk and juice she felt better. If she felt better so did we. In the two years that she was in the home Far Guy visited her almost every day. I accompanied him once or twice a week.

On one of those visits Betty grabbed my arm and asked "Do you bake bread?" I laughed and replied " No, my Mother did years ago, and Far Guy's Mom was a really good bread baker ..hardly anyone bakes bread anymore." She sadly stated "I am so hungry for freshly baked bread, the bread in here isn't fit to eat."

On our way home Far Guy wondered aloud if he could learn to bake bread the old way. I told him perhaps he should take lessons from his Aunt Louise. I am thinking... hey this is a great idea, he is not only going to be a great cook but a baker too! Instead I opened my big mouth and said "Well your Aunt Louise bakes bread every week, you just need to ask her to share with Betty!" And he did, Betty got the fresh bread she dreamed of and a good bread baker was honored to share her baking skills. Aunt Louise bakes the best bread ever! I still think Far Guy should take lessons.

Do I bake bread? No, not unless you count taking out a loaf of frozen bread and putting it in an old bread pan to rise and bake, or dumping the required ingredients into Far Guys automatic bread maker. I used to watch my Mother mix and kneed and bake, I used to enjoy the smell and the taste of a freshly sliced warm piece of bread slathered in butter. Do you bake bread? :)