Aunt Betty and Uncle Ralph

My parents with Ralph and Betty on St. Patrick's Day

Some of you know that in January I arranged to have my Aunt Betty and Uncle Ralph move to the nursing home in Dunlap.  They were both continuing to decline, and I thought they might not have much longer to live.  I didn't want them to die alone, and that was a big fear I had if they remained in Indianapolis.  So they came to Dunlap.

Between my mom and dad and me, someone from the family was with them almost every day.  They got to see my kids and Penny's kids, and they had several very enjoyable visits with Madeline.  Madeline warmed up to Aunt Betty especially, and it was enjoyable to watch them "play" together.

On April 9 my Uncle Ralph passed away after succumbing to an infection and pneumonia.  My mom and dad were with him when he died.

And now, on Friday, my Aunt Betty passed away.  My mom was with her when she died.  She had just celebrated her 88th birthday the week before.  She had several visitors during the week including her niece Charlotte and dear friend Brenda.  I'm so glad they came to visit before she passed.

Aunt Betty celebrating her birthday with my parents and
my sister and some of her family.

My friend Mary was there to celebrate too.

Throughout my life, Ralph and Betty had been important people to me. They lived next door to us growing up and their swimming pool was the center of lots of fun when we were teenagers.  When I went off to college they would come to visit and take my roommates and me out to dinner and let me stay with them at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo.  When I got married and had children they continued to visit us in Tennessee and their visits were always much anticipated and filled with laughter.  Oh, my, how Ralph and Betty could laugh!  It is one of the things I will miss most about them.  They could make anything exciting.  When we visited them at their home one of the most exciting events was waiting for the cuckoo to come out of their clock.

They also let us spend time with them in Florida.  On one visit we ended up being the worst house guests ever.  I had pink eye that I had contracted from one of my students at school, Will got sick and threw up on the carpet and we discovered that Kathryn had head lice.  Although they had to do some major cleaning up after we left, they were gracious hosts and at least made us feel as if they had enjoyed our visit.

In the last few years I have been through a lot with Ralph and Betty, but I have learned so much and this time has been a blessing in many ways.  I will never regret the time I spent with them in these last years, even though walking this journey with them has been one of the hardest things I've done in my life.  The decision to move them to Dunlap at the end was a good one too.  My parents have been keys in making their last days pleasant and comfortable, and for that I am thankful.

Visiting Aunt Betty back in May

We will lay Aunt Betty to rest on Tuesday.  The last time I saw her was the day before I left for Canada back on June 1.  I told her I wouldn't see her for a couple of months because I would be in Canada.  She said, "Don't worry about it.  We're leaving to go home in a couple of days."

I looked at her and smiled and said, "Well, Aunt Betty, if you get ready to go home before I get back, you just go on home."

And so she did.