RETURNING TO MARY'S MESSAGES (January 2010)
Effective with this Volume you will notice that the News section is changed back to Mary’s Messages which always was the last page of each newsletter over the first nine years. In it I reported on miscellaneous information that didn’t necessarily have any relation to the subjects in the newsletter. This gave me the opportunity to mention various and sundry items I thought would be of interest to family members.
Even though you will read in the February newsletter that this year I will focus on our grandmothers of the past because of the little recognition they have received, I have chosen to begin with a tribute to one who is not one of our ancestral grandmothers.
Marie Powers Larkin, who died this last week at 101, was an indomitable spirit. I didn’t know her very well but she was a composite of an extraordinary-ordinary woman.
Extraordinary because she not only lived such a long life, but she lived alone and took care of herself. She had no children of her own so she had to be extraordinary for relying on her own resources as an independent woman. I remember many years ago when I would see her at the store she was always smiling, and I’ve been told this was Marie. Extraordinary.
Ordinary because she wasn’t great, and she wasn’t special. She just was an example of a woman who worked hard, took care of herself, and stayed healthy until the end. I loved it when I would ask about her and Joan would tell me, “Marie says God forgot about her.” Not true. She was an example for all of us, men and women, and that’s why I pay her tribute.
Even though you will read in the February newsletter that this year I will focus on our grandmothers of the past because of the little recognition they have received, I have chosen to begin with a tribute to one who is not one of our ancestral grandmothers.
Marie Powers Larkin, who died this last week at 101, was an indomitable spirit. I didn’t know her very well but she was a composite of an extraordinary-ordinary woman.
Extraordinary because she not only lived such a long life, but she lived alone and took care of herself. She had no children of her own so she had to be extraordinary for relying on her own resources as an independent woman. I remember many years ago when I would see her at the store she was always smiling, and I’ve been told this was Marie. Extraordinary.
Ordinary because she wasn’t great, and she wasn’t special. She just was an example of a woman who worked hard, took care of herself, and stayed healthy until the end. I loved it when I would ask about her and Joan would tell me, “Marie says God forgot about her.” Not true. She was an example for all of us, men and women, and that’s why I pay her tribute.