My family recently suffered a loss this past week. My aunt Ann passed away suddenly due to a cerebral aneurysm (actually, her second one). She was feeling fine during the day, talked to my mother twice on the phone and once later in email, but that night she started getting a headache and within hours she was gone.
She was very special to me and my sister. She was always doing nice things for us; she took us to see our first Broadway show (CATS) and took me to a Star Trek convention. While I was in high school, she was in charge of one of the womens’ dorms at Vincennes University. She brought me and my sister over to the dorm for a visit to watch movies (Footloose was one, I recall) and have a pizza party, meet her residents, etc. For an All-American teenage boy, that was almost heavenly! *laughs!*
Ann, I want you to know that we miss you terribly. My faith tells me that you are now in a much better place, with no worries about health, money and other issues. I know that you have been reunited with your parents and that you all are now peaceably abiding with God. We all love you and miss you, but we will see you again someday!
Update: I just got back from my Aunt’s funeral; that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. It was a beautiful ceremony. I’ve never been to a catholic funeral; it was quite moving.
One thing that really stands out in my memory; I’ve always pulled over to allow funeral processions to pass but I’ve never realized just how much that means to those in the procession. I even saw city workers on the side of the street stop working and take off their hardhats until we passed. That meant quite a lot to us. And it just goes to show that civility and respect still exists. 🙂
Jason K Lee 