Posted on 09/12/2024 5:58:20 AM PDT by bert
My Aunt Ethel died and today is her memorial service. She was a month or so older than 101. She was the last in a family series of sisters and husbands and brothers.
She was not really my aunt, but the foster sister of my mother. Ethel was like my mother and father, a child of the depression. Her family though was literally torn apart by the ravages of the Depression. My grandmother’s church stepped in and absorbed the five children into three of the church families.
She and a younger sister became my mothers sisters. They were truly a family in a real sense. Thy all three lived at home until they were married.
Ethel’s husband and my dad became very close friends and fishing buddies. Although we actually lived a hundred miles apart, the brothers in law frequently met for fishing on the lakes in between. I remember taking many camping vacations together at far flung but special fishing spots far from home.
Up until she was 100 or so, Ethel was active in her church and senior activities. The last time I spoke to her she was almost 101 but spoke well and seemed to possess a sound mind.
She had no children. Her original family coalesced when they were in their 60’s and local nieces and nephews looked after her.
Living today, we can’t possibly comprehend the difficulty and challenges of the Great Depression followed by the world at war. And yet I can look at Ethyl and see how she survived and then surmounted adversity on an unimaginable scale.
We must try to reflect on the fact that for nearly 15 years in a row, all of the above were in short supply or just not at all.
reflecting
God Bless you
He was a beautiful person with a happy life, we all have a lot to thank our eternal Father for.
Sorry for your loss. And thank you for the reminder to reflect :)
Sorry for your loss. She saw a lot in her life.
Bert, I am saddened to hear of this great woman’s passage. Your description of her is similar to my own grandmother who passed away close to the same age.
My dear grandmother lost her mother as a child, and as the oldest, ran the house until my great grandfather remarried. They lived on a remote farm and it was a harsh life.
I am glad God let us know and learn from such people, and we can cherish them in our hearts.
Thank you for sharing.
As an aside, if Trump doesn't win, we who are still alive are about to enter a time that might make the Great Depression look good by comparison.
Sorry for your loss bert. May God Bless.
Your story brought back memories. My parents took in two children during the depression. I always considered them my uncles.
Prayers for comfort.
Wonderful story. Society was functional (to the extent any society is), and people/family (both family and not) stepped up and helped each other. Here’s another along the same lines: My great-grandfather, with his three children (including my then four-year-old grandmother) lost his wife. The family was very poor, making a bare bones living farming a small plot of land quite a ways out from town. Their pastor took them into his home, which was a block away from where my future grandfather was being raised, along with his three siblings, by my divorced great grandmother. He (grandfather) was ‘adopted’ by a childless couple who put him to work in their business across the street from the pastor’s home. My grandparents met as kids, grew up together, and married young (by today’s measure). The decency of good people brought my them together. This, the grace of God really, is what has traditionally advanced our civilization.
Condolences on your aunt’s passing.
I’m becoming keenly aware that when you reach a certain age, people around you that you love start leaving us unexpected. I lost my mom, my last parent, last summer, and the sting is still felt beneath the surface of the business of everyday life. In a way, I feel unmoored.
May she rest in peace and may God console her loved ones.
Ahh, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
God bless your Aunt Ethel now resting in the Lords presence. Nice story. And we who are older know somewhat of the hardships our older relatives faced. I fear our children and grandchildren will face many hardships we cannot imagine.
absence does ‘...make the heart grow fonder.’
makes me think of a small, fraying photo of my dad and his 3 brothers, standing sideways by height and age, hands on shoulders—smiling and happy boys—completely ignorant of their poverty by our standards, all dressed in ragged overalls and bare footed, in the heart of that time you reference, Bert.
God willing, all now in a place prepared for them before the foundation. thank you for the lovely post and bless the memory of your steadfast and wonderful aunt.
Sorry to hear of your loss. It sounds like she was loved, protected and cared for by many people and she lived a long life. I’m sure there was a big reunion in heaven when she arrived.
Peach
Sorry for your loss of this awesome lady bert.
Wish I could have met her and heard her life stories!
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