AUNT REE

In my home when I was a child my mother subscribed to a couple of magazines. One of those was The Reader's Digest. There was always one article in there entitled "the most influential person in my life". Today, I would like to pay tribute to a person of that description in my own personal life. That person was my mother's sister that I called Aunt Ree. She was more mother than aunt to me because as a very young child I lived in her home. She fed me, she clothed me, she gave me a place to live and most of all she loved me and taught me. She taught me that in this world there are certain things you do and things you don't do just because it is the right thing or the wrong thing. There were no gray areas. She taught me that it truly is more blessed to give than to receive and she was an example of that by all of the things that she gave and the things that she did for her family and her friends. She never had any biological children and I don't know the reason for that. She always told me that she "was too busy raising me and my brother" and that is probably true. She was a strong woman, not only in stature but in character. Coming through the depression and living with practically no money she knew how to "stretch a dollar" to supply us with everything we needed. She cooked, she sewed, she crocheted and sold doilies and pillow slips, she made aprons and sold them, she was very creative and never quit learning how to do new things. She was fiercely loyal to her husband, her brother, her sisters, her nieces and nephews and my children who became her grandchildren. She loved a bit of gossip, and didn't mind talking about people - not maliciously but she could really "get into their lives" when she wanted to. She never told me no when I asked her for anything. She never criticized me when I really needed it. She loved me unconditionally and that was the way she felt about my husband and my children. She loved my brother with the same love and proved it over and over by standing by him all of the days of his life. In 1988 she broke her hip, had surgery and for some reason never could walk without the aid of a walker. She came to live with Billy and me. For thirteen years she lived with us and I loved every minute. When she became unable to walk there was no choice but for her to retire to a nursing home. It broke my heart to see her there but she never said a word nor complained a minute. On December 18, 2000 Aunt Ree, surrounded by her grandchildren and me, closed her eyes and left us. It was a cold day and as I left the nursing home to go to my house to make funeral arrangements the snow began to fall. She loved snow and would have been so happy to know that as God lifted her to her new home he sent snow to her earthly home as a tribute to her. I pay tribute to her today and am proud that I was blessed to have had her from the moment of my birth until she took her last breath. She was and is to this day the person that influenced me the most.