I lost my Aunt Shirley this week. She was probably the aunt I was closest to though I adore all my aunts. My dad has 3 older sisters and Shirley was the one next to him in age. The two of them were close growing up even though there was a six year difference in their ages. I remember them, and people who knew them, talking about how they roller skated together and how good they were at it.
Shirley and her husband, my Uncle Leonard, introduced their younger siblings to each other. Shirley's brother (my dad) and Leonard's sister (my mom). And the two couples always did a lot together. When I was growing up, their kids would come to our house for a week in the summer and we would go to theirs. Even when they named their kids their closeness showed. First, Shirley & Leonard's son came along and they named him Lonnie, then mom and dad had me and named me Bonnie, then came Shirley & Leonard's daughter, Connie. Thank goodness the madness stopped there. My siblings were named Lynn, Brian and Cyndi.
Aunt Shirley survived uterine cancer about 10 years ago then about two years ago she went to the doctor for a physical and a simple blood test showed she was anemic, they began running test and found colon cancer. She had a horrible year of chemo and radiation, she was healthy for about 6 months when they found cancer in the liver.
But through all of that...she never lost her faith. She always found reason to praise God. When they called the family in last Tuesday, mom said Shirley opened her eyes at one point and said "Thank God for Heaven". She lingered, laboring for each breath until finally she went home to be with Jesus on Saturday morning. And while we mourn for her and miss her, this will be her best Christmas ever...Christmas in heaven. So I dedicate this blog to my Aunt Shirley...I am a better person for having known her.
