Monday, April 5, 2021
Jill and Jan,
Your Mom embraced life and engaged people. Her openness and non-intimidating self-confidence immediately put people at ease. She had the ability to take life's joys and pains in stride and move forward with goodwill and humor. My time in Regina around your parents' dinner and pool tables created some of my favorite memories: easy conversation, sometimes about serious topics but always with lots and lots of laughter! Saying "good-bye" to them the night before we moved to London we knew was going to be tough. At just the right moment Cody said, "Make it fast or we will all be in tears." Over the years no matter how much time had lapsed, we picked up our conversation without missing a step. How fortunate I was to meet your parents right out of school, and to have your Mom as a friend for 50 years. I am so thankful that she had a long and satisfying life and that things went quickly at the end. A few years ago she said to me, "I am so healthy I don't know what is going to take me. But when it comes I hope it comes fast." When she quoted at age 100 from her hospital bed one of her favorite poems, her voice still embodied her zest for life. That was her gift to us. And, Jan, asking her to recite it, was your gift to her. Thank you, Cody, for a life well lived.
Joe D.