Funeral: To Each His/Her Own

 Yesterday I attended my Uncle Al's funeral.  I rode with my other baby brother and she who sees robins first.  The funeral was in a town 45 minutes away. There was a gathering time before the funeral service.

My Uncle Al had leukemia and bone cancer, he fought a good fight for over six years ...then the Doctors told him that there was nothing they could do for him anymore.  That was a few months ago shortly after that he went on Hospice.   

Uncle Al was seven years older than me.  He said "I am going to try like heck to make it to my 80th birthday." He was 39 days short of his goal.  He died exactly 4 months after his oldest sister (my Mother).

Uncle Al planned his own funeral.  Hence the name of the blog today To Each His/Hers Own.   The funeral was in an event room at the Holiday Inn.  The casket was in the far corner surrounded by flowers of many purple colors ( He was a Vikings fan).   A slide show of photos played on an large screen...but it was hard to see in a room with so many lights.  A Minister read the obituary out loud ( one of my pet peeves) ...because we cannot read for ourselves??  The sermon was the great message that we are all saved by the grace of God through his son Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life, was crucified and died for ALL our sins.  A number of people shared stories and one of his granddaughters wrote a lovely letter...it was apparent that she loved her Grandfather very much...this I knew was mutual because Uncle Al talked about all of his grandchildren with a huge smile on his face.  The music was fine...Frank Sinatra singing My Way and Elvis singing How Great Thou Art and one other song I cannot recall.  After the service the burial took place at a local cemetery and afterward there was an open bar and food served at the event center. 

We left shortly after the service. 

My Uncle Al is on the far left.  He was the 10th child born to my grandparents.  My Mother is the oldest in this photo on the far right.  Two children not pictured Alfred died in 1947 and James who died in 1948.  Now the only living person in this photo is my Uncle Kenny front row left who is two months younger than me. 

 Me and my Uncle Al in 1952. Uncle Al was seven years old when I was born.   He was the chief baby rocker in the Fall of 1951 and the Winter of 1952...there were three babies in the house...I was born in September and my Grandmother had twins in November. 

 

Funeral flowers from my siblings and I for our Uncle Al.

Far Side

 

In between

 Yesterday I picked up my Aunt Judy (she was married to Uncle Dennis who was my Mother's brother, he died a number of years ago) and she and I went to see my Uncle Al.  Uncle Al is 7 years older than me and loved the job of rocking babies instead of chopping wood.  I was born in September and my Grandmother had twins in November ( My Aunt Karen died a few years ago but Uncle Kenny is still alive and lives in Nebraska. )  So there were three babies to rock, Uncle Al says it was almost a full time job. 

So I am the in between kid...in between Al and Kenny.  They are the the last surviving members of that family.   Uncle Al was diagnosed with Leukemia 6 1/2 years ago, the Doctors bought him a few good years, recently the Doctors reported that the cancer is in his bones so there is nothing medically that can be done for him...enter Hospice to keep him comfortable. 

He is in good spirits, taking it one day at a time. His wife Donna is a marvelous caregiver, between her and hospice they hope to keep him at home for the duration of his life.  We had a nice visit and talked about many things.  We took chicken from KFC for lunch because it is one of Uncle Al's favorite lunches.

I also took him an old picture.  He looked at it and said "Is that me and you?"  Pretty sure it is!  The photo was taken at my Grandparents home and everyone else was way older than him.

Uncle Al and me June of 1952.

Aunt Judy and I had a good visit there and back, she has a really good sense of humor, so it was a giggly girls trip! 

It snowed on and off most of yesterday.

Far Side 

Why?

 As I sort through things I wonder why they were kept. I ran into one such item that was a mystery. 

Well as it turns out it was kept by my Maternal Great Grandmother, my Maternal Grandparents and my Mother.  And now I have it over 100 years later...well...114 years later.  Now what do I do with it? 

It is a sweet card.  Turns out it came from  a teacher Esther Strout, who in 1910 was a 19 year old teacher and she boarded with the relatives (August and Elizabeth Anderson) who raised my Grandmother. 

Fred/Freddie/Frederick C Drewes was my Maternal Grandfathers older brother. 

Freddie is on the left and my grandfather (Albert) on the right. The brothers were born in 1901 and 1903 they were 1 year and 7 months apart in age. 

Sadly Freddie died of Scarlet Fever on Sept 20 1911. 

My Grandfather never spoke of his brother to me.  I wonder if my Grandfather got Scarlet Fever also, but he was luckier than his brother.  My grandfather also had other siblings a sister born in 1905 and brothers born in 1907 and 1912.

Well now after a bit of research I know why this card was kept. It must have been a remnant that comforted my Great Grandmother Hattie. Something she could just not throw away. 

For Not Whispering.

Far Side

Today

 Later today after Far Guy's infusion we leave to go back to our home in the woods to prepare for my Mother's celebration of life.  

This is a very small photo that was folded and damaged.  I was lucky to find it in the bottom of a photo box.  There are very few photos of my Grandparents with their children in the 1930's.  Grandma is holding Vivian or "Skippy" as she would be known, and Grandpa, down in front is my Mom, Marion and Alfred.  I can date the photo as it is summer time. My Aunt Skippy was born in November of 1933 so this photo must be taken in 1934. My Mom would have been 4 years old soon to be 5, Aunt Marion 3 years old and Uncle Alfred 6 years old. My Grandmother would have been 23 and my grandfather 31 years old. My Mother was the remnant in this photo with the first four children born to my grandparents.  

My Mother is survived by two much younger brothers...Aldon and Kenny. 

Far Side

New Old Project

 I have two totes of old photographs to scan.  The photos belong to my parents.  I finally got my new printer /scanner to talk to Far Guy's lap top and got it all set up.  It is upstairs so I can work on it when I get a chance and leave everything out.   

My Mom had some photos stuffed inside manila envelopes, I will double check them and scan if necessary...eventually all the folder type wedding, graduation, school and baby photos should be returned to family. 

I started a facebook page for my Dad's family and many have enjoyed the photos I shared there and I will do the same thing for my Mom's family...soon...it all takes time! 

I ordered a few special photo labeling pencils so I can mark the backs of some of the photos with the who, where and when if possible. There are a wide variety of pencils out there that can be used.  Creative Memories is where I purchased mine. 

Far Side

Sprinkled

 No not the rain kind of sprinkled or sprinkling the clothes with water and rolling them up and putting them in a plastic bag so they could be ironed properly. 

A permanent sprinkling. 

Notice the white colored ash in the grass?   Notice the urn?   This is the grave of my Maternal Grandparents.   Their youngest daughter Karen died May 24, 2017 at the age of 65.  Recently her children brought her ashes from Florida to be sprinkled on her parents graves.  Better late than never. 

No I did not look in the urn to see if it was empty. 

As far as I know they did not contact anyone while they were here.  We had hoped to have a grave side gathering when they brought her ashes back.   My Mother and two of her brothers are still alive and it would have helped give them some closure. 

Far Side

Another Mystery

 My Maternal Grandmother had an interesting piece of jewelry.  I recall when it was purchased for her.  I found it among some old jewelry that my Mom put up for sale.   I took it out and said "I remember this"  Mom said  "Well so do I.  I think I will keep it for a little while longer"  So I pinned it to her shirt. 

There are 18 stones...she had 12 children...it is a bit of a mystery.  My Uncle and Aunt that were born last are November babies...topaz...so there should be two amber colored stones side by side....so it is still  a mystery...I do recall how thrilled my grandmother was to receive this gift....perhaps that is enough.

Far Side

Wistful Wednesday: Unknown photo

 Mom and I found a photo...a very old Cabinet Card from the 1890's.   I know it is from the 90's because the edges of the card are scalloped. 

Someone was Confirmed....the book and the candle are clues.    If you think the head is too big for the body...you would be thinking the same thing as me.  It is an early photo shop attempt...the photographer probably took another photo of this person sitting down...and swapped heads.  ( Sounds barbaric...but if the person closed their eyes ...he could either fix them or do his version of photoshop)

Most young people got confirmed about age 14 or so... 

There are a few relatives in contention...My Great Grandmother Hattie  was born in 1878 In Palmer Germany.  She came to the United States in 1884 when she was 6 years old.  She would have been 14 in 1892. 

My Great Grandmother Amanda was born in 1876...she would have been 14 in 1890.

I am not sure which one it is.   It was found with the Amanda side of the family photos.  Is that a clue?  Might be...might not be.  

Another case of an unmarked photo.   I scanned it and gave it back to my Mother.

Far Side

1946 and 1968 Funeral Costs

 While helping my Mother go through "stuff" we have run onto some interesting bits of information. 

Funeral Costs for my Grandfather's parents. 

The 1946 bill for funeral services for My Great Grandfather Christian Drewes total $364.50

The 1968 bill for my Great Grandmother Hatwig (Hattie)  total was $787.00

My thoughts were :  Great Grandpa got flowers , Great Grandma got a vault and underwear ...must have been some fancy underwear too for $3.   The sexton of the cemetery also got a dollar. 

Interesting the things that were kept.  Great Grandpa did not have a funeral book...just a bill. 

My Mother asked "What do we do with the funeral books? Throw them out? "  So I brought three of them home with me...my Great Grandmothers, my Maternal  Grandfathers and my Maternal Grandmothers.  I will have a look through them and pass them down to my baby brother.  My Grandmothers funeral book needs to be updated...so I shall do that. 

I was hoping to find a proper obituary for my Great Grandparents.  I found a newspaper death notice for my Great Grandmother. 

Far Side

Cross

Two deaths recently.

The first a elderly 96 year old neighbor.  I have known him ever since I can remember.  I used to babysit for his two granddaughters.  His son died earlier this year...the father of those little girls.  I am certain this loss hits those girls doubly hard.   He spoke of those granddaughters fondly every time we saw him.

My cousin Lisa's son in law (age 30) was in the terrible National Guard Helicopter crash here in Minnesota last week.  He leaves behind a wife, daughter and another child due in February.  All three young men aboard the helicopter  died.  Such sadness for many families in Minnesota.    My cousin said  "The support of prayers, visits, calls and generosity of so many people is incredible. We're assured that God is faithful and will never leave us or forsake us because he is our help and strength."

I know my cousin must have some moments of feeling helpless... there is no way she can shield her daughter and granddaughter from this heartache.

Far Side

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28

My Mom's Family Gathering

On Saturday a bunch of my Mom's nieces and nephews hosted a reunion on Lake Seven by Vergas Minnesota.

My Mom and one of her brothers (her other brother lives in Nebraska and did not attend)  They are the remnant of 12 brothers and sisters.   My Mom is 2nd born and Uncle Al pictured was born 9th and Uncle Kenny was born 12th.

It was a good day with way too much food...they are a bunch of good cooks!

Uncle Al shared that when I was born he was seven years old.  My Grandmother birthed twins two months after I was born so there were three babies in the house that winter (My Dad was in Korea).  Grandma or my Mom would holler for Al to come and rock babies to sleep.  He said most often he was at the woodpile with his brother Butch splitting wood when the call rang out from the house.  Butch would be disgusted that his helper had to leave... Al he would warm up by the stove and then rock babies sometimes two at a time.  He recalls rocking babies was much better than chopping wood.

Since I am the oldest Grandchild and the cousins closer to my age were not at the reunion it was a bit strange.  I did have a good visit with several younger cousins.  The cousins that I grew up with were not there (Max, Diane, La Rae, Linda)  only one was there Vickie....the rest were all my other baby brothers age or younger.   But I do recall when their mothers were pregnant with them....strange perspective I know.

We stayed as long as we could, the perfume and aftershave were intense even outside.  Far Guy was struggling and felt like his lungs were burned.  Sadly he still feels that way many hours later...one of the many reasons we rarely go out in public.

Far Side

Wistful Wednesday : Family branch

We have many branches that make up our family tree.  I was able to do some research and discover a bit about my Great Great Grandmother on my Mothers paternal side of the family. I have her obituary from 1918. She and her husband were parents to eight children.

The short adventure that we took the other day was finding the cemetery where my Great Great Grandmother, Great Great Grandfather and some of their children are buried.

So far I can only push back in this branch to 1843 in Pomen or Pomerania Germany.  I do have some clues about earlier dates and people but they need more research.

Old photo of some of the eight children.

My Mother took this photo in 1949.  The occasion was someones funeral, Mom cannot recall who died.

Lena, Elsie, Grandma(Hatwig or Hadwig), Hattie, Bob 1949.

Lena was my Great Grandmother's sister, born in Kansas....she married twice once in 1907 and again in 1944. She lived out her life in Coleraine Minnesota.
Elsie was my Great Grandmothers twin sister ( can you imagine how rare it was in 1878 to have twins and both of them survived!) born in Stuttgart, Stradtkreis, Stuttgart, Baden - Wurttemberg Germany.  Elsie married John and they lived in Spruce Grove Township Minnesota.
Grandma...Hatwig...Hadwig...it is Hatwig on her grave marker.  Married my Great Grandfather Christian and they lived on a farm next to my maternal grandparents all their lives ( one of my cousins lives there now)
Hattie....Hattie is Bob's wife. They lived in Fullerton North Dakota.
Bob...or Robert my Great Grandmothers oldest brother.  Married to Hattie and lived in Fullerton North Dakota.

Other siblings were Otto, William(Wilhelm), Albert and Frank
The research continues.
Far Side

Wistful Wednesday : Another Goodbye

One by one my Maternal Grandparents immediate family is dwindling.

There are only three children left…my Mother and two of her brothers Al and Kenny.

This is a photo taken in 1961 at the farm where I grew up.  Those sections of boards going horizontal used to mark the walls of the old pantry. When my parents remodeled the house in 1959-1960 the pantry walls were removed and a picture window was added. The drapes were off white with shades of green tropical plants and small pink flowers…wall to wall drapes.  My Mother sewed the drapes.

This is a photo of my grandparents and their children with their spouses in 1961.

from the left the stars ** are living persons

**Madeline and **Jake (my parents)

Marion and Marvin both deceased in 2004

Vivian “Skip” (2007) and Theron (1978) both deceased

Delbert in back (2009) and Delores (2018)  both deceased.  Aunt Delores died last Friday night/Saturday morning in her sleep.

Dennis in back and **Judy  Uncle Dennis is deceased (2015). My Aunt Judy is Delores sister…brothers married sisters.

Esther “Toots” (1996) and Ray (2004) both deceased

Clarence “Butch” in back (1993) and Kay (2017) both deceased

Elsie and Albert my Grandparents both deceased in 1995

**Al (standing behind my Grandparents)  He wasn’t married in 1961.  He did marry **Pat, divorced and now is married to **Donna.

In front is the Twins

Karen she was married to and divorced from **Al Dean  She is deceased (2017).

**Kenneth “Kenny”  married to **Linda.

Two children died before this photo was taken Alfred 1947 in and James in 1948.

I saw my Aunt Delores a few weeks ago.  She asked “Do I know you?” I said “Yes I am Connie” she replied “Of course you are” and gave me a hug. She had been more confused since moving into assisted living this spring. The funeral is later this week. What a blessing to sleep away during the night. No long drawn out hospital stay or convalescing in “the home.”

Wistful Wednesday : Auction May 29 1993

My maternal Grandparents had an auction sale a long time ago. Grandpa was going to be 90 years old that July and was done farming.    I kept an auction bill and recently dusted off my huge scanner to scan it.

As I recall it was a reasonably nice day for an auction.  I bid on many things, mostly I bid against my Uncles so they wouldn’t get too much “stuff” cheap.

 

Auction Bill

I am not sure what else I bought but I bought the copper boiler.

I

I suppose I should get some copper cleaner and spiff it up a bit.   It holds magazines and oversized rice bags (for cold feet), it sits inbetween the bedroom and the bathroom and yes Chance lays just outside the bathroom door…it is one of his safe places.

I have another boiler it is stainless steel and it holds extra blankets so the grands can grab one when they are here.  Not sure where or when I bought that one, maybe I bought both that day.  The boilers were always on the stove in the pump house, clothing was probably boiled in that pump house at one time, but all I recall is chickens being scalded in them during chicken butchering time.  ( For those of you who don’t know once a chicken has properly bled out, it is dunked into a hot water bath several times until the feathers are easy to pluck.)  I can still smell wet feathers just thinking of that old pump house.

I had to laugh at this Auction Bill…I thought my Grandparents drove a Buick.  It was a 1973 Buick LeSabre. (In Nice condition for a 20 year old car.  It always sat in the garage and never went over 45 or 50 mph.) Apparently no one was driving anymore…Grandpa never drove much Grandma always drove, but since they sold the car apparently she wasn’t driving either…Grandma would have been 82 that year.  Sadly they both died in 1995 within two months of each other. Grandpa was 92 and Grandma 84.

Aunt Karen’s Dash

I have an Uncle and Aunt who are twins who were born two month after I was born.

Uncle Kenny and Aunt Karen although I never called them that.

They were twins but totally different in personality.

This photo in 1952 says it all.  Karen is crying, Kenny is wondering what she is bawling about and I am on my way out of the situation.

Karen on the left and me on the far right in 1954, the little girl in the middle her name was Connie also.

Kenny, Carey, Me with Deb, Karen

Vickie, Diane and Maxine

It must have been Diane’s birthday party.

All of us grew up together, we saw each other just about every Sunday because everyone gathered at my Grandparents on Sunday for dinner.

I got along just fine with Kenny.  Karen not so much, she was always getting someone in trouble and I was often punished because she was a Miss Tattletail.

I was usually off with Kenny and my baby brother doing “stuff”…you know…jumping from hummock to hummock in the swamp, poking long sticks down into the oozey bog where the ground would move, playing games with sticks and balls, Anty I Over, Hide and Seek.  We could play outside all afternoon and be entertained until it was time to eat dinner or go home. Karen was mostly in the house playing with dolls.

Both Kenny and Karen were attendants when Far Guy and I got married.

Karen got married in 1970, she had two maybe three kids and while those children were little she divorced her husband. 

The last time I saw her was in May of 2004.  It was at her sister’s funeral visitation (Marion).  I expressed my sympathy and inquired about her children.  We really never had much in common.

My Mother had four sisters.

Toots, Karen, Grandma, Skip, Madeline (My Mom) and Marion in 1977.  This photo was taken at my Grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary.

My Aunt Karen died on May 24 2017, she was living in a Nursing Facility in Florida near her daughter.  She was 65 years old.

Now my Mom has no living sisters.  She does have two brothers still alive.  Once there were twelve children and only three remain.

I know that Karen was Confirmed in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod because I was there.  I suspect that she eventually grew up a bit.  She had a hard life being a single mother. My Mother always tried to make her feel special.

 

I should know more about her dash, but I don’t.  Sometimes it is really hard to put childhood conflicts behind you. We co existed on Sundays because we had to “get along” growing up. I did not go out of my way to learn more about her once we reached adulthood.

I hope she had a good life and enjoyed her children and grandchildren.   

Funeral : Aunt Kay

My Aunt Kay died a week ago she was 76 years old. The funeral was yesterday.  My Mother is fighting a bad cold, she sent my Father out to go to the funeral with us.  My other baby brother and she who sees robin’s first went too.  Far Guy stayed home…good thing too as the perfumy smell of cleaning products assaulted you as soon as you opened the door of the church.

My Aunt Kay was married to my Uncle Clarence, Butch was his nickname.   They raised four children together and then divorced.  I had not seen my cousins in about 24 years.  It was good to see them at the funeral…now they are in their 50’s except for Holly who is going to be 48 she was born on our wedding day back in 1969.

My Aunt Kay was a very kind woman, she was a good mother and grandmother.  I have many good memories of her when I was growing up. I saw her and my uncle just about every week at my grandparents for Sunday dinner.  Their place on Little Floyd Lake where they raised chinchillas.  The new home they built together that had a double fireplace was beautiful.   We butchered chickens one summer out on a picnic table in the yard.  My Dad worked at the “shop” there and we would visit him there in the spring. When Far Guy and I picked out Mom and Dad’s White German Shepard puppy in Ada Minnesota…we took the pup as far as Uncle Butch and Aunt Kay’s place so my parents could pick her up.

The Funeral Sermon was short and sweet and to the point.  Ashes to ashes dust to dust.  Laugh and enjoy your time here on earth whatever troubles you encounter won’t matter in heaven.  Death has lost it’s sting because Jesus died on the cross. 

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I took a photo inside the church so my Mother could see all the flowers.

After the afternoon service we joined with the family for coffee and bars…all kinds mainly chocolate!

I took some photos of my Uncle and Aunt’s wedding album…they got married in October of 1960.

 

 

My baby brother was the ring bearer.

The parents looking at the ring.  Those are my grandparents on the right.  Grandma wore gloves and grandpa had some dark hair.

The wedding cake photo with a bunch of little girls looking on.  One is me, I am the tallest, my Aunt Karen is next to me…down in front the little gal with the great expression on her face might be  relatives from the other side of the family or it might be cousins La Rae, Vickie or Diane.

From weddings to the grave…my Uncle Butch died in 1993 and now Aunt Kay in 2017.

Photos, Genealogy and a Mystery

I have been working on some old photos, I found a whole packet of photos that needed to be sorted and marked with the year and the complete names.  Also found some more stuff for the grands memory binders. 

Found quite a few old graduation photos of Far Guy so the grands will each get one of those too.

Then I needed a small all day project.  My other baby brother asked for a copy of the family trees I have been working on.  I decided to work another leg or an arm…

Lucked out and found an old obit for my GG Grandmother Christina who died on June 25 1918.  Obituaries are a wealth of information…if it is correct.  So off I went to verify information …there were two typos in the obit (transcribers make errors too). 

Christina married name Kuhn maiden name unknown was born Feb 5 1847 in  Germany…wish I knew where??  Her husband must have been Fritz Kuhn born Dec 20 1843 and died April 13 1910 they are buried next to each other... and I found Census Records for them. They had at least 8 children in Germany:  Robert, Otto, William, Albert, Hadwig, Elsie, Frank and a unknown.   They immigrated in1884 with children 17 years - 2 years old. That must have been some trip.  Lena was born in Kansas in 1885. (Hadwig and Elsie were twins…many times twins did not live the births were difficult because usually one twin was breech…many times the babies and the Mothers all died.)

Well anyways I figured out where most of the children are or were.  Bits and pieces fit together nicely for me…a name is just a name but I have some old photos of these people that my Mother has shared with me.  Those old photos are all marked with names.

But I still have a mystery to solve:

A number of years ago my Mother gave me two CDV albums.  Mom cannot remember who they came from…just from family. One is from Germany and the other is clearly from the Glanders because Grandma Anderson is in that album and possibly even my Grandmother.  I will scan the photos and enlarge them so my Mother can look at them.

None of these photos are marked….even though the album had a spot to list the photos.

These two gals look like my Aunt Skip and my cousin Linda…distant relatives sometimes have the same features.

I believe that Christina may have kept the other album.  She was from Germany.  Hadwig and Elsie were born in either Wartenberg or Stuttgart depending on what reference you believe.  Those towns are 475 miles from Bremen and Bremerhaven (Bremen Harbour) where most of these photos were taken. Did Christina live in Bremen before she was married?  She was married sometime before 1870..possibly 1869 (first baby born in 1870)

I wish I had a photo of her.

The first photo in the album…usually the album owner puts their photo in the first page.   Could this be Christina?  I am not certain we will ever know.

There are many cousin look alikes in this album

These two look like Cousins Deb and Danny…most certainly relatives. 

There are four branches that this last album could come from.

Falnes…they were from Norway. Highly unlikely that she would have an album photographed in Germany.

Glander…German born but highly unlikely….but still a possibility.   GG Grandpa Johann must have had a wife…I have no idea what her name was.  He was born in 1827 and that makes his wife a tad old to have CDV’s from 1860-1870.

Drewes…The name was given to a young man either he was orphaned or he was not wanted by his family.  His name was Christian Hyer or Higher before he took the Drewes name at his confirmation in 1884 in Wolcottsville NY.  Not likely that he had a photo album. Was he really German? Who knows.

Kuhn…Christina born in Germany in 1847…the most plausible conclusion.

It will probably remain a mystery.  I will put a note in each album with my thoughts.

My brain is mush after a day of research, tomorrow I will transcrible all my notes into something readable. Please mark your old photos with whole names and the year…the four W’s is the best who, when, where and why.

Wistful Wednesday: Aunt Skip

Not all my Mother’s sisters had nicknames…but Vivian did…she was Skippy or Skip for short.

Someone took this photo of Skip and me (My Mom) in 1949. My Mom was four years older than Aunt Skip.

Aunt Skip

She married my Uncle Theron, he was a wonderful kind man, a Korean War Veteran and he drove a Buick (red and white).  I do not recall their wedding, I think it was a private ceremony.

Aunt Skip and Uncle Theron would have three children together and he ran a very successful business until he developed a brain tumor.  Sometimes I would visit at meal times in the hospital because he couldn’t feed himself or speak so that you could understand.  He always knew who I was I could tell by the smile in his eyes.  Eventually he was moved to a Nursing Home where he would spend the rest of his days unable to care for himself. He suffered for two years before he died when he was 49 years old.

The funeral was held in this church on a very cold November day.  I did not recall this church until I saw it last week.

When my Aunt Skip died 30 years years later I attended the wake and not the funeral.  She had remarried…twice I think…one husband was a gold digger.   She was real keen on spiritual drawings and felt the spirit moved her to draw…maybe so…but I remained skeptical.  Some people need to cling to something when they have lost most everything.

Aunt Skip was a wonderful baker, she could have opened her own bakery.  She made the best white frosting covered in coconut fried roll you have ever tasted…even half frozen out of her freezer they were delicious.   She also made our wedding cake.

I wanted to find her gravesite.  Aunt Skip was 73 years old and had some kind of cancer when she died in 2007.