Considering she lost her own mother when she was a mere 9 months old, Mom seemed to instinctively know how to be a wonderful mother.  How blessed were we to have been raised by her and our father, who truly loved us as well as each other!

Mom melted whenever she held a baby in her arms. She was an expert at showing love to her children, 6 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. She was a very involved grandmother, helping in any way she could. Among many other things, every single grandchild cherishes their memories of going camping with Memère and Pepère.  Their grandchildren were lavished with time, attention and love, as we all were. 

I don’t think any of our Birthdays will be the same without getting a call from Mom and hearing her sweet little voice singing us “Happy Birthday to you…” over the phone.  It happened on my recent Birthday, that she called from her hospital bed to sing to me but I missed her call.  Undeterred, she sang her sweet birthday wishes into my voicemail.  That’s one message I will be listening to each year on my birthdays to come. What a sweet remembrance!  

It’s no secret that Mom was a woman of faith who tried her best to show love and goodness to all who crossed her path.  She believed strongly in daily prayer and had a strong devotion to Mary, mother of Jesus. Her desire was to pass on that devotion to all.  She prayed daily for our Spiritual wellbeing.

Mom clung to her Catholic faith as the life preserver that it was for her.  All of her decisions were made from the viewpoint of her understanding of what God wanted her to do.  It was the framework of Mom’s life.  This simple, “no-frills approach” provided her with the stability she needed in her life and it worked for her. The way she conducted her day-to-day life, more than anything, was our greatest teacher.  

Mom was a gentle soul.  She didn’t have a mean, vindictive bone in her body and meant no one any harm, EVER!  If she hurt someone, you could bet it was unintentional and as soon as she became aware of any pain she had caused, she immediately went about trying to repair it to the best of her ability and never gave up trying. In order to avoid fostering feelings of resentment toward others, she tried to understand their point of view, knowing that we all interpret things differently.  

Her compassion for others compelled her to practice complete & total Forgiveness – She never held grudges.  She understood, on some level, that holding grudges would be the equivalent of keeping her heart in a prison of her own making.

While she resisted change like most people do, when it was thrust upon her, she dealt with it gracefully. Mom and Dad had always been so close, that after Dad passed, we were concerned about how she would manage. While she never stopped missing Dad, she refused to give in to depressing thoughts.  If she sensed her spirits taking a nose dive, she would busy herself or call someone.  We admired how adaptable she actually was.  

One of the comments an extended family member made about her in the last few days was that she had a strong diminutive presence. That so aptly describes Mom.  While she was small in stature and soft-spoken in demeanor, she was a woman of great strength. 

Mom extended love to all, including and especially to those who seemed unworthy – simply because that’s what Jesus asked of us.  “What would Jesus Do?” was not merely a cute saying to our mother, it was the way she lived her life.  

~Zanne
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