Tuesday was a busy day for me, which is good right now. When we wrote the
obituary on Saturday and I sent it to the Arizona Republic, it was going
to cost almost $600. There is a story behind this and we decided that
instead of spending the money on that, we would use it for the Irish
Wake! We are having it put in the Douglas Dispatch and it will be
online one day soon.
So
today I took the picture and the obituary into a printing company and
we are going to have 150 bookmarks made for the family. They will be
green and will have a shamrock on them.
I
then called the Sheraton where many of the family are staying to
inquire about having a reception there after the funeral Mass at St.
Mary's. It is very close to the basilica. The lady I spoke to could
not have been any nicer, will comp us the room and we will be able to
toast our wonderful Aunt Teresa who always enjoyed a drink.
Now
to the Arizona Republic story..... During the presidential election
for John F. Kennedy in 1960, there was quite a backlash because JFK was
the first presidential candidate who was a Catholic. One Sunday, the
Republic had an editorial about how if Kennedy was elected, the Pope
would take over the country. I was in sixth grade that year and I
remember coming home from church and my mom was super angry over the
editorial. She called the Republic collect and they actually accepted
the charges. She stopped our subscription to the newspaper and it was
not allowed in our house after that. My mom often called collect and
often had people accept the charges. She had quite the spirit.
When
my kids and I spent summers in Douglas when they were young, I finally
convinced her to let me "bring" the Republic in so that I could keep up
with news in the valley.
When
she died in 2002, I remember taking her obituary in to the office on
Baseline and it was a little over $200 to have it published. I remember
telling the very nice lady the story about my mom and her relationship
the Republic. She would have not been happy for me to write that check
to them!!! So that is one of the reasons we decided to forego the
almost $600 and spend it on the get together with family and friends!
The
most important thing to Teresa was that our family stay close. I
promised her when I was living with her in Douglas that I would always
do my best to make that happen and I will do my best. She loved that
we would get together for the fun times and she loved all of her nieces
and nephews so much.
Even
though we lost her mentally several months ago, it is still so hard for
me to grasp that she is really gone. I know it is a blessing for her
and we were so blessed to have her for so many years, but it is still
difficult as she was the last one left!!
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