It feels a little wrong to blog about this. It feels even more wrong to skim by it, not attempting to acknowledge the impact it has.
Our Aunt Helen passed away yesterday. Technically she was my great Aunt, and the girls great great Aunt. Aunt Helen was kind, caring, and very devoted to her faith.
When I was a child she lived with her two sisters, May and Elizabeth, in a home near the old family farm. I spent the night there one time, lying terrified in bed as I heard what I was sure some poor lady being brutally murdered. When I brought it up the next morning they all looked puzzled, then laughed and laughed as they explained that it was the neighbors peacocks I had heard screaming at each other all night.
Sometime around the age of 90 Helen started refusing the Christmas gifts we would bring her, after all she was going to die any day. Sometime right after her 100th birthday she started quietly taking them again. I'm not sure if she just realized it made us feel better, or that maybe she figured she may be around for a while after all.
Helen was always impeccably dressed, even in her very proper pajamas. Her home was always spotless but welcoming, even when her home moved to Providence Place. She kept up with the large Murphy clan ( quite a task!!) , always knowing what each of us were up to.
My tiny nucleus of family had a tradition of visiting a church in each city we traveled to and saying a prayer for Aunt Helen, not because of our beliefs, but because of hers.
It's been a few months since I've seen her, and I knew I wouldn't be able to see her for at least a few more, but I feel the loss of her already.
This was the last picture I have of her. She's a little frail in this one, I wish that I had a picture of her to post earlier in her life. Aunt Helen was a beautiful person, with a beautiful spirit. We will miss her.
When I was a child she lived with her two sisters, May and Elizabeth, in a home near the old family farm. I spent the night there one time, lying terrified in bed as I heard what I was sure some poor lady being brutally murdered. When I brought it up the next morning they all looked puzzled, then laughed and laughed as they explained that it was the neighbors peacocks I had heard screaming at each other all night.
Sometime around the age of 90 Helen started refusing the Christmas gifts we would bring her, after all she was going to die any day. Sometime right after her 100th birthday she started quietly taking them again. I'm not sure if she just realized it made us feel better, or that maybe she figured she may be around for a while after all.
Helen was always impeccably dressed, even in her very proper pajamas. Her home was always spotless but welcoming, even when her home moved to Providence Place. She kept up with the large Murphy clan ( quite a task!!) , always knowing what each of us were up to.
My tiny nucleus of family had a tradition of visiting a church in each city we traveled to and saying a prayer for Aunt Helen, not because of our beliefs, but because of hers.
It's been a few months since I've seen her, and I knew I wouldn't be able to see her for at least a few more, but I feel the loss of her already.
This was the last picture I have of her. She's a little frail in this one, I wish that I had a picture of her to post earlier in her life. Aunt Helen was a beautiful person, with a beautiful spirit. We will miss her.
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