Beloved elderly relatives - no one lives forever
While we were gone in CA, my Aunt Esther passed away at the age of 90. She survived two husbands, my wonderful uncle Tracy who died many years ago at the age of only 55 (you never know, so don't put stuff off unless you just have to), and then Ora, another fine gentleman, although Tracy was a big part of my growing up, so he will always have a special place in my heart. Tracy and Esther were legally blind - raised two kids, my cousins Pat and Tracy (they joined my family on a number of memorable vacations, and we got together on al of the holdidays and birthdays, etc.). It was a hard life for them, but they seemed to be genuinely happy. Esther was a very thankful person, always grateful for any small kindness shown her. She lived a full life, and made the best of whatever circumstances life gave her. She and Pat were part of my Illinois weekend visits that I did for the last number of years - my parents and sisters, Pat, Mark and Aunt Esther, finishing up with lunch with Donna's great uncle Wilbert - then fly home. Cousin Pat and I have remained very close through the years, Tracy a bit less so, but he is way off in Florida - and it still is always great to see him and his family, which we did at Esther's memorial service. Also saw my cousin Charlotte Ann's daughter Donna and her husband and two kids - very fun to reconnect - connect with long distance family - that's the thing about funerals - seeing distant family makes the occasion fun - I think the Irish basically have it right (maybe a bit more moderation on the booze though) - it's a celebration of the person's life - especially when it is someone who has lived a long full life, not a tragic early out. Here are a few pictures of Esther.
We also saw my parents and my sister Denise, caregiver extraodinaire! Denise lost her job a few years ago, and has been living with my parents and my very organized sister has really been a godsend to Mom and Dad. At this point they would not be able to continue to live in their house without Denise. Donna and I so appreciate the wonderful loving care that Denise is providing "her seniors". As usual, we laughed a lot. We had a quick "drive by" visit from sister Debbie too. Dad has COPD after smoking for all of his life (quit a few years ago - either that or die), but he seems to be pretty stable - is on oxygen most of the time. Mom looks great (she could be a double for Queen Elizabeth), but has various ailments that she controls with a variety of medications. She did have a big scare days after we were there - she ended up having emergency surgery at 3 AM for a blood clot in (I believe) her femoral artery. The doctor told her that she had "dodged a bullet". She has been recovering well after that trauma. Here are a few pics from that visit.
We also "caught" Wilbert Seidel, Donna's great uncle and her cousin (his daughter) Rennie at home in Evanston - we went out to lunch and visited at his home in Evanston. Wilbert is 101 (turns 102 in Sept). He was a professor of Art at Northwestern for many years. He still regularly travels to Washington DC to be with Rennie, spreading his time between mostly Evanston, and Washington. He is a phenomenal man and a true inspiration. Only in the last couple of years has he begun to "fade". I loved our chats over the years about all the forbidden subjects, religion, politics, etc. A great story about his visit - Donna says to Wilbert - well now we've covered religion, would you like to talk about politics or sex? Wilbert grins and says - sex. What can I say, even at 101. Rennie has also been a "caregiver extraodinaire", being very dedicated to her beloved father.
Here are a couple of pictures of our visit.
And then we ended up our midwest visit by traveling down to Condordia, Mo to visit Wilbert's sister, Ruth who is 103. Ruth was a big part of Donna's life growing up with wonderful memories of holiday visits to Concordia to be with the Gienapps (Ruth married Norman Gienapp). Our family also visited there every year while our kids were growing up - and we hvae fond memories of those visits. There are many wonderful stories about Ruth; she was one of the very first female Chemistry graduates of Northwestern University, she sat next to Johnny Weismuller in math class (she helped him out), she famously baked a meatloaf at midnight for the Gienapp and Cornwell kids who played all night in their basement on one of the holiday visits, and she and Wilbert were known to enjoy a Manhattan at happy hour on more than one occasion (just one though, sipping it slowly to make it last). Ruth loves sitting on her nursing home porch anytime of the year, taking car rides and enjoying a "Creemy Freeze" shake - the local version (and better) of Dairy Queen. We did all of that in our visit. Here are a few pictures from that visit. The gentleman in the picture is Vernon, Ruth's long-time next door neighbor in Emma, all of 4 miles from Condordia, and where she and Norman retired to.
We also saw my parents and my sister Denise, caregiver extraodinaire! Denise lost her job a few years ago, and has been living with my parents and my very organized sister has really been a godsend to Mom and Dad. At this point they would not be able to continue to live in their house without Denise. Donna and I so appreciate the wonderful loving care that Denise is providing "her seniors". As usual, we laughed a lot. We had a quick "drive by" visit from sister Debbie too. Dad has COPD after smoking for all of his life (quit a few years ago - either that or die), but he seems to be pretty stable - is on oxygen most of the time. Mom looks great (she could be a double for Queen Elizabeth), but has various ailments that she controls with a variety of medications. She did have a big scare days after we were there - she ended up having emergency surgery at 3 AM for a blood clot in (I believe) her femoral artery. The doctor told her that she had "dodged a bullet". She has been recovering well after that trauma. Here are a few pics from that visit.
We also "caught" Wilbert Seidel, Donna's great uncle and her cousin (his daughter) Rennie at home in Evanston - we went out to lunch and visited at his home in Evanston. Wilbert is 101 (turns 102 in Sept). He was a professor of Art at Northwestern for many years. He still regularly travels to Washington DC to be with Rennie, spreading his time between mostly Evanston, and Washington. He is a phenomenal man and a true inspiration. Only in the last couple of years has he begun to "fade". I loved our chats over the years about all the forbidden subjects, religion, politics, etc. A great story about his visit - Donna says to Wilbert - well now we've covered religion, would you like to talk about politics or sex? Wilbert grins and says - sex. What can I say, even at 101. Rennie has also been a "caregiver extraodinaire", being very dedicated to her beloved father.
Here are a couple of pictures of our visit.
And then we ended up our midwest visit by traveling down to Condordia, Mo to visit Wilbert's sister, Ruth who is 103. Ruth was a big part of Donna's life growing up with wonderful memories of holiday visits to Concordia to be with the Gienapps (Ruth married Norman Gienapp). Our family also visited there every year while our kids were growing up - and we hvae fond memories of those visits. There are many wonderful stories about Ruth; she was one of the very first female Chemistry graduates of Northwestern University, she sat next to Johnny Weismuller in math class (she helped him out), she famously baked a meatloaf at midnight for the Gienapp and Cornwell kids who played all night in their basement on one of the holiday visits, and she and Wilbert were known to enjoy a Manhattan at happy hour on more than one occasion (just one though, sipping it slowly to make it last). Ruth loves sitting on her nursing home porch anytime of the year, taking car rides and enjoying a "Creemy Freeze" shake - the local version (and better) of Dairy Queen. We did all of that in our visit. Here are a few pictures from that visit. The gentleman in the picture is Vernon, Ruth's long-time next door neighbor in Emma, all of 4 miles from Condordia, and where she and Norman retired to.
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