MOM--Sincere Condolences

Hi beloved family, sleep seems far away from me at this moment of time, so just thought I'd share part of my insomnia. The death of this relative, Aunt Wilma, 98, no less is the last from my Dad's generation. Still have Aunt Leona, the youngest brother of my Mom, who now lives in Florida. Hope this finds you all well and hopefully I can fall back to sleep. Love, Mom/ grandma mac aka sis mac From: mac9pcom@msn. com To: diannemahoney@ tds.net Subject: RE: MOM Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:41:06 -0500 Dear Dianne: It is Friday, August 15th here in Australia. I woke up at 1:00 AM,  this morning and for some reason decided to check our e-mail; which I don't normally do in the middle of the night like this. So sorry to hear about the gentle passing of your most special Mom. How she blessed your lives and you & your siblings blessed her life; and as well, she (and your Daddy) blessed the lives of so many. I tried to go back to sleep, but a flood of memories filled my mind. One that came first, was when Frank & I had the privilege of living with Grandma Bormann when we were 10 and 11 and us traveling up to your home and taking a train to Seattle, Washington to visit Aunt Bea and Uncle Harold and then down to California to visit Aunt Corrine and Uncle Vic. That was a summer I will never forget and in fact I always had it in the back of my mind to take my own grandchildren on an adventurous train trip as she did for us. When you are a child, you don't always have enough wisdom or life experiences to know what a sacrifice of time that was for Grandma Bormann to have had Frank and I with here for the year before our Dad then taking us up to Wisconsin to live with his third wife for our junior and high school years. Years ago, I knew that Grandma Bormann's loving, kind care of us showed just what a queen of a woman she was. Part of our train trip started at your home and I  have such sweet memories of your parents and your family. What a special summer that was and it pretty much started at your home. We were so grateful, as adults, to attend a special celebration for your parents 60th or was it 70th? wedding anniversary in Minnesota. It was at a park with a indoor shelter where we had a nice picnic style lunch. I so remember your beautiful Mom, as we all stood around in one really large circle to pray and your Mom so lovingly acknowledged all who were there and the distances many had traveled and then I believe she a knowleged those of her grandchildren and family that couldn't be there to celebrate with them. I believe after speaking for a few minutes and the prayer of blessing on the food was about to happen, your Daddy said he had something to say. How you were all blessed with some of the most remarkable parents out there. There are so many other things I can say, but I will finish with the very last time, I was in Estherville with my husband, now several years back. I had called and found out many of my Mom's nieces and nephews would be that one magical weekend as were most of you from my Dad's side also. Your Mom had told me, just about every day as she drove past the cemetery on the way to her home, she would think of my Mom as she was buried there; which so touched my heart. Your Mom & Dad are two of the finest of the many fine relatives that blessed my life. That weekend, I naturally visited the graves of both of my parents and I remember saying to my husband as we drove away from Estherville, that I knew that would be probably be my last time to visit there and it was as if, I was mourning my great childhood memories there. On my Mom's side, only her youngest brother, Uncle Bob's wife, Aunt Leona lived there in Estherville at the same time of that visit and shortly after that Aunt Leona moved to Florida to be near one of their two sons. Please convey my condolences and love to your siblings and families and I want to acknowledge my love for your beloved parents and for all of you. May you all feel of the tender mercies of the Lord and be comforted at this time in your lives. Love, Pat, Doug and family of nine children and (husbands and wives) and 32 beautiful grandchildren with the 33rd on the way. We have now served 13 months of our 18 month mission in Australia working among the teenage and older youth of Australia, ages 18-31+. We have enjoyed (mostly, that is ) our time with these most loving and inclusive young people; but I am looking forward to returning to our own wonderful grandchildren, aged less than a year and up to a 20 year old. This has truly been an adventure here, also.   From: diannemahoney@ tds.net To: mac9pcom@msn. com Subject: MOM Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:56:33 -0500 Dear Patsy and family,   My Mom died Tuesday morniing in her sleep.  The funeral is Saturday, I am just walking out the door to go to Estherville now.  Wake is Friday, 5 - 8.  Know you will be with us in spirit, and I will fill you in on the details when I return, which will probably be in a week or so.   She was 98, and such a special person.   Love, Dianne