Aunt Rita

My Aunt Rita passed away last week.  She was my dad's sister.  There were 11 children who lived to adulthood and only 5 are left.  I had not seen many of them since my dad's funeral 16 years ago, so it was a wonderful time to catch up with them - especially our cousins.  My sister and I traveled over for the viewing on Monday night and stayed over for the funeral on Tuesday.

 

My Uncle Jim and my two cousins (Marie and Mark) took such good care of her in her final years.  She had been severely sick for about 4 years, with the last year of dementia being horrible!  The last words I heard Jim say (with tears in his eyes), "She was a good wife."  And he was a good husband!  52 years of marriage - such love!

 

Aunt Georgie, Aunt Donna (my dad's twin), and Uncle Jimmy.  They never looked alike when they were younger, but so much about Uncle Jimmy reminded us of our dad.  It's what we imagine he would have looked like if he had gotten older.

 

We had to add Georgie's husband, Clayton, and Jimmy's wife, Sharon.

The youngest of the family, Mike and our two cousins, Michael and Sabrina.  Mike is only 6 years older than my sister.  He knows a lot of the family history and shed a lot of light on our geneology.  We learned a lot of stuff we never knew - very strange, interesting, and even scandalous stuff!

My dad's older brother, Bobby passed away a few years ago, but his wife Clara Mae, daughter Cathy, and grand daughter were so nice to visit with.  This family lived in Lafayette for a number of years, so we were around them more than some of the others.

We spent the most time with our cousins Milly, Pam, and their brother Chuck (who had to return to DC immediately after the funeral).  They are our Aunt Donna's kids.

Obviously wish the circumstances had been different, but we sure loved this time with our extended family.  They were such an important part of our childhood and we loved reconnecting!