Ode to Auntie Edith
Mom (Emily) and I returned to Arizona yesterday from a week in Kansas City with Rick and Anthoney. We cried together, hugged and reminisced together. On Thursday Tom and Robin and Jerry joined us, and on Friday the funeral was held and we all said our final farewells to Auntie. It was a heartbreaking week but I am so glad we were all there for Rick. In my last post I said I would post what I said at Auntie's funeral service. Here it is.
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For those of you who don't know me, my name is Susan Walker, and I am one of Edith's nieces.
Edith Marie Hern was known to many people by many different names. To some, she was Friend. To others, Confidant. To one - my cousin Rick - she was Mom. To Anthony she became mother as well, and she loved him as much as her natural born son. When she married Harry Hern she became step mom to a wonderful family who welcomed her into their arms and hearts, every one of whom she loved dearly. To others she was "Sister Edith," attending the same church with them for decades. She was beloved cousin to Florence.
Edith Marie Hern was known to many people by many different names. To some, she was Friend. To others, Confidant. To one - my cousin Rick - she was Mom. To Anthony she became mother as well, and she loved him as much as her natural born son. When she married Harry Hern she became step mom to a wonderful family who welcomed her into their arms and hearts, every one of whom she loved dearly. To others she was "Sister Edith," attending the same church with them for decades. She was beloved cousin to Florence.
She was an anonymous giver of charity. Unbeknownst to her friends or family, she would give to others who were needy when she herself could easily have been considered to be destitute. It was anonymous; she didn't do it for recognition or notoriety, she did it because she knew it was the right thing to do.
My own mother doesn't like to call her "sister-in-law," because they were friends long before they married their husbands. To my mom she has been Best Friend for nearly seventy years. And to my brothers and sisters and me, she always was and will be Auntie. We adored her for all the love and kindness she lavished upon us both as children and adults. As little kids we always looked forward to seeing her, as if some special treat lay in store, and as we developed into adults we found in her the role model of an elegant and dignified woman who weathered whatever Life handed her with strength and poise.
My elder sister Sherry and I remember Auntie Edith babysitting us when we were little kids in California and our families lived close together. She endured with such loving kindness all the pranks we pulled, and taught us valuable life lessons through it all. Sherry now lives in Israel and is unable to be here with us today, but she wrote to us and reminisced about our beloved Auntie Edith. Rick has requested I share a little of what she wrote, so the following is from Sherry:
"Dear Susan, I remember as a child sitting on the floor in Auntie Edith's living room, eons ago when we all lived in California, next to her beautiful couch with all the pretty braid on the bottom. And I braided all that decorative fringe on her couch, but Auntie never reprimanded me for that. We found out years later that Auntie spent a full hour on her hands and knees, patiently unbraiding all my hard work.
"I also remember she loved to take us to the zoo and to parks there in California for picnics - do you remember those trips? And remember those Neiman and Marcus dresses she bough for us one year? They were black and white checks, with little white Peter Pan collars and white belts and full skirts. I remember she paid the unbelievable price of $25 EACH for them. But they wore like iron. We wore them, then you [Susan] wore mine, then Robin went through both of them, then I think that some of the church people wore them, and finally years later they were sold in a rummage sale - still looking almost as good as the Christmas day we got them!
"And most of all - I remember the baths that she gave me. Instead of being lined up with al the rest of you kids at the cold, hard, metal sink in the kitchen - which was where Mom had to bathe us - at Auntie's house she would take me into her fancy bathroom, with all the wonderful scents, and give me a bath in hot water with bubbles… And the best of all was when I got out of the tub - because she would wrap me up in the biggest softest towel you ever saw… and she had heated it so that it was nice and warm and cuddly…Heaven. I felt like Queen of the May, so special, the only little girl in the universe… that's the way our Auntie made me feel."
Yes, Sherry, I remember those days, and those dresses. And I remember always looking forward to going to Auntie Edith's house. We and our siblings were very fortunate to have had wonderful role models in our lives. Our parents and our Auntie Edith were extremely positive influences in our lives for which we are all grateful. Auntie Edith was always grace and dignity personified.
As I said earlier, she was known to many people for many things and by many names. She will always be my Auntie. She will always be your mom, Rick. She will always be your friend, or your cousin. But it occurs to me today that there is one common thread throughout it all, one thing that Edith Marie Hern was to each and every one of us gathered here today. She was loved.
We will love you always, Auntie, and we will miss you forever.
My own mother doesn't like to call her "sister-in-law," because they were friends long before they married their husbands. To my mom she has been Best Friend for nearly seventy years. And to my brothers and sisters and me, she always was and will be Auntie. We adored her for all the love and kindness she lavished upon us both as children and adults. As little kids we always looked forward to seeing her, as if some special treat lay in store, and as we developed into adults we found in her the role model of an elegant and dignified woman who weathered whatever Life handed her with strength and poise.
My elder sister Sherry and I remember Auntie Edith babysitting us when we were little kids in California and our families lived close together. She endured with such loving kindness all the pranks we pulled, and taught us valuable life lessons through it all. Sherry now lives in Israel and is unable to be here with us today, but she wrote to us and reminisced about our beloved Auntie Edith. Rick has requested I share a little of what she wrote, so the following is from Sherry:
"Dear Susan, I remember as a child sitting on the floor in Auntie Edith's living room, eons ago when we all lived in California, next to her beautiful couch with all the pretty braid on the bottom. And I braided all that decorative fringe on her couch, but Auntie never reprimanded me for that. We found out years later that Auntie spent a full hour on her hands and knees, patiently unbraiding all my hard work.
"I also remember she loved to take us to the zoo and to parks there in California for picnics - do you remember those trips? And remember those Neiman and Marcus dresses she bough for us one year? They were black and white checks, with little white Peter Pan collars and white belts and full skirts. I remember she paid the unbelievable price of $25 EACH for them. But they wore like iron. We wore them, then you [Susan] wore mine, then Robin went through both of them, then I think that some of the church people wore them, and finally years later they were sold in a rummage sale - still looking almost as good as the Christmas day we got them!
"And most of all - I remember the baths that she gave me. Instead of being lined up with al the rest of you kids at the cold, hard, metal sink in the kitchen - which was where Mom had to bathe us - at Auntie's house she would take me into her fancy bathroom, with all the wonderful scents, and give me a bath in hot water with bubbles… And the best of all was when I got out of the tub - because she would wrap me up in the biggest softest towel you ever saw… and she had heated it so that it was nice and warm and cuddly…Heaven. I felt like Queen of the May, so special, the only little girl in the universe… that's the way our Auntie made me feel."
Yes, Sherry, I remember those days, and those dresses. And I remember always looking forward to going to Auntie Edith's house. We and our siblings were very fortunate to have had wonderful role models in our lives. Our parents and our Auntie Edith were extremely positive influences in our lives for which we are all grateful. Auntie Edith was always grace and dignity personified.
As I said earlier, she was known to many people for many things and by many names. She will always be my Auntie. She will always be your mom, Rick. She will always be your friend, or your cousin. But it occurs to me today that there is one common thread throughout it all, one thing that Edith Marie Hern was to each and every one of us gathered here today. She was loved.
We will love you always, Auntie, and we will miss you forever.
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