Forever GreatNana

This morning, the lights dimmed for the last time for our beloved Mom, Nana, Gramma, Auntie, and friend. She was blessed by the presence and support of her niece and fellow Christian Scientist, RayAnne who was with her at the end reading her entries from Science and Health. It was quiet and peaceful, consistent with her life.

We remember her as all the vessel of all the admirable qualities the human spirit can express: kindness, strength, compassion, courage and on and on. At 66 years old, I still wanted to impress her, make her proud, be a good son to such an amazing mother.

She survived the Depression, WWII, teenage boys, 30 years of retirement, 65 years of marriage, 5 years of widowhood, and a lifetime of friendships. 94 years covers a lot of human history and family life. She never seemed to let any of it defeat her for very long. A bright outlook, a generous spirit, and determination to see good in everything and everyone around her seemed to carry her through.

In her last years here at Chateau Bothell, she continued her relentless goodwill, making friends, doing good works, finding activities to engage her active mind. We are spending time in her little nest here extracting the library books and literature that she continued to absorb in her final days. Her email account is crowded with appeals from a host of liberal, compassionate causes that she believed in and supported. Apparently, the Democratic Party has lost a real pillar.

I find it a bit ironic that the first sign that she really was slowing down was when she took a header into the sidewalk on Father's Day while trying to WALK to church. That's a quarter mile up and down hills and, in retrospect, a real stress test. Her last "public" event was when she came to Cousin Kate's house two weeks ago for a family dinner. I was oblivious to her situation because she really wasn't letting it show. More sensitive table mates got us to recognize that she was struggling. That was the first ER visit that started on the path to this day. Mom allowed us to impose enough "traditional" medicine to recognize the course of events as we saw them, then we returned to her home with RayAnne's guidance and gracious support.

She is at peace. Someday, we will be too. Into His Loving Arms, we commend her spirit.