Farewell Aunt Mary

My dad always tells the delightful story of 
Mary and Jackie's wedding day. She was a beautiful bride.

 My Aunt Mary passed away last night after a prolonged illness. She was 91. She had a rich and eventful life and leaves six spirited children, many grandchildren, a few great-grandchildren, lots and lots of neices and nephews, and many more loved ones. There is one word that captures my Aunt Mary and that is graceful. 

I always looked forward to seeing Aunt Mary. She was impecably dressed. You could count on her to be an amazing listener who always asked thoughtful questions about your life. She was up to date on the issues of our times and would remark thoughtfully and intelligently about those issues. She was not one to gossip or judge, but instead she would share her own perceptions and thoughts about issues and accept your opinions as well.

As a child, we didn't see a lot of Mary since her husband was in the CIA and they lived all over the world. I was always intrigued by the stories of their faraway adventures and looked forward to their visits back to our hometown, Worcester, Massachusetts.

In Mary's later days, she lived quietly in Worcester on her own. Her children and grandchildren were by her side regularly. I was honored to be able to go out to lunch with her now and then and host her at my house too. She was always a gracious guest.

Whenever anyone close to me passes, I try to identify a few characteristics of that person that I want to carry forward. With regard to Mary, I want to carry forth that element of grace that she exemplified day after day. I want to be the good guest and thoughtful listener that Mary was too. 

Farewell Mary. You will be greatly missed. My best to your wonderful children, Anne, Christine, Mary Jane, Jake, and Paul and all their wonderful spouses, children, grandchildren, and loved ones.