“When we lose someone we love we must learn not to live without them, but to live with the love they left behind”.
My mother-in-law moved on to her next life on August 12, 2022. If one word described her life, it would be LOVE. She loved life and all that came with it: family, friends, faith, dogs, sports (kids, grandkids, Bowling Green, Ohio State, Cleveland Browns, Terry Bradshaw), traveling, knitting, playing cards, volunteering at the hospital.
Mom entered assisted care four years ago. Dad did not need the care that Mom did but he did not want to live without "his girl." He very begrudgingly left the home that he and his brothers built.
On August 11, 2020, Mom and Dad celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. Dad died a couple months afterward. Mom died on August 12, 2022, one day after what would have been their 77th anniversary. There's some divinity and Dad taking charge in this story. It was time that these two lovebirds were back together.
Mom’s Memorial Mass of Christian Burial was at the old downtown St. Michael’s church. She loved that church. Whenever she talked about St. Michael’s, she always found a way to mention that her three children were all married there. Surrounding her altar were vases with a dozen red roses in each of them. That love story story goes back to 1943. Her then fiance left for his WWII service in the South Pacific on January 22, 1943, and he made arrangements with the local florist to deliver a dozen red roses to the love of his life on the 22nd of every month until he returned home.
Driving around in the Lancer with the “Up your Kilt” bumper sticker!
Making sure that every time you threw the dog's toy it would hit Grandpa when he wasn’t looking!
Making the best fried egg sandwiches and peanut brittle.
Making Christmas cutout cookies and always having more tinsel on your tree than anything else!
Humming and “doo, doo, doo”-ing to the radio no matter what tune was on! Your hand always keeping the beat.
We could always count on you to have a tissue in one pocket and a pack of Doublemint gum in the other!
And possibly my all time favorite, how you always stood at the screen door and waved as we pulled out the driveway.
We will certainly always remember to have ice cream for dessert because, as you used to say….”ice cream fills in the cracks!”
Mom almost made it to her 99th birthday. What a wonderful life!
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