I adored my older sister; she was six years ahead of me, and often my babysitter, but she always treated me like her best friend. I was so honored to be a bridesmaid at her wedding and later loved babysitting her two oldest sons.
Spending time staying in her home during the summers was like one long "girls' night out". We went swimming, to movies, and cruising in her new Ford convertible. After her boys came along, I was still welcome, and spent part of many summers with them during my teenage years.
She was always there for me at any special event...many happy ones a a few terribly sad ones, also. I could always count on her and my oldest sister, LaVee, whenever I needed anything. They were more girlfriends and "Moms" to me than our own mother was.
I was lucky to have sisters who were kind, smart and talented - they made me want to be like them. Mary suffered a sad divorce when her boys were small, as their father developed a bad illness which made him sullen, controlling, and sometimes abusive.
Mary knew she would have to support herself and the two boys. After a couple years in the business world, she was a very successful bank manager. She went on to manage multiple branches and eventually met a great guy who was working on one of the new banks as an architect. They married and later had another son. Bob was also a wonderful father to her older boys. Their birth father, in the meantime, died in a motorcycle accident, and Bob was always "Dad" to them.
Our families just had gotten to spend a few days together to celebrate Mary's 90th birthday, and was looking forward to another summer visit, when she took ill and passed right after Christmas. Miss her like crazy!
I adored my older sister; she was six years ahead of me, and often my babysitter, but she always treated me like her best friend. I was so honored to be a bridesmaid at her wedding and later loved babysitting her two oldest sons.
Spending time staying in her home during the summers was like one long "girls' night out". We went swimming, to movies, and cruising in her new Ford convertible. After her boys came along, I was still welcome, and spent part of many summers with them during my teenage years.
She was always there for me at any special event...many happy ones a a few terribly sad ones, also. I could always count on her and my oldest sister, LaVee, whenever I needed anything. They were more girlfriends and "Moms" to me than our own mother was.
I was lucky to have sisters who were kind, smart and talented - they made me want to be like them. Mary suffered a sad divorce when her boys were small, as their father developed a bad illness which made him sullen, controlling, and sometimes abusive.
Mary knew she would have to support herself and the two boys. After a couple years in the business world, she was a very successful bank manager. She went on to manage multiple branches and eventually met a great guy who was working on one of the new banks as an architect. They married and later had another son. Bob was also a wonderful father to her older boys. Their birth father, in the meantime, died in a motorcycle accident, and Bob was always "Dad" to them.
Our families just had gotten to spend a few days together to celebrate Mary's 90th birthday, and was looking forward to another summer visit, when she took ill and passed right after Christmas. Miss her like crazy!
