Today I found out that my Aunt Anne passed away in her sleep. She was in her 50s. She was one of my youngest aunts (I think there are about 15 in all). She had heart problems from a young age, but it had rarely prevented her from travel, education, church involvement or staying busy.
I don't remember when I first remember Aunt Anne. It seemed to me that she was always in school or traveling when I was young. She used to curl our hair and put lip gloss on our lips (along with our Aunt Ellen) whenever we went to visit my grandparents in Burley, Idaho. It was fun to be made glamorous by our aunts. She must have been in her earlier 20s at that time.
When I got a little older, I remember taking a trip with Aunt Anne to Bruneau, Idaho to drop off some of her teaching supplies for the new school year. We (Renaye & I) went to her school and to her new home - a little house that seemed to be in a wide field in the middle of nowhere. Though I like the wide open spaces, I remember not wanting to ever have to do that by myself. I figured she must be pretty brave to conquer the wide open spaces of Idaho.
I will admit that I had my moments with Aunt Anne. She was very direct with her questions and sometimes they came at times where I couldn't handle them emotionally. What are you planning to do with your life? That was the question that came in front of a room full of aunts and uncles at a family gathering. I was 20 years old and really didn't know what I was planning to do. What is preventing you from getting married? That came in front of a little group of people right at a difficult time too. Yet, she was one person that was allowed to ask these questions. She was single until her mid-40s. She was an example to me of perseverance even when life didn't go the way it was planned. She got her teaching degree and a masters degree. She traveled the world. She was invited to do interesting things - some kind of trip with National Geographic, jury duty for some people that neglected their pet tigers in Idaho (?), and working with kids that had committed some interesting crimes. She even served a mission for our church on a Navajo Indian reservation and spoke Navajo. Rare.
In a heart to heart conversation at some point before she met her husband, I still remember her telling me this:
"God's delays are not God's denials."
That quote has stuck with me for a long time and I've shared it with many a friend.
It is sad that she is gone. I think the last time I saw my Aunt Anne was in 2005 and so it is probably time that I take another trip out west. Only this time we won't be able to talk.
These moments kind of shake me up a bit, but I do walk away appreciating life, wanting to make the most of it and feeling an immense sense of gratitude for family/friends.
Aunt Anne is in a good place right now, though that will provide little comfort to many at the moment. She fought a good fight, lived with meaning, and had an influence on more people than I will ever know being so far away.
But, I do know her influence on me, I do have memories, and I do have pictures. This evening I also do have a few moments to reflect.
I'm grateful for my Aunt Anne and look forward to seeing her again someday.
This last picture is one of my favorite pictures of Aunt Anne. It was the first I thought of when I realized that I needed to sit down and right about her this evening. We had a family reunion in Idaho when I was around 14-15 years old. There were about 35 grandchildren at the time. My mom, and some of the aunts, had put us into teams in which we had to dress up and run an obstacle course. It was so fun for a lot of the cousins. This was what my Aunt Ann dressed up in when she took a turn. Beautiful picture! I think my Dad took it.
Here's an excerpt from my sister Renaye's email. We both remembered the same excursion with our Aunt Anne!
My best memory of her was when she invited Rebecca and I to help her set up house in Warsaw, Idaho?? was that the name of the tiney town she was to be a teacher in? The town had give her a house...I think she was THE elementary teacher for the whole town or something like that!!! :) I remember helping her load up Grandpa's truck with all her things...school supplies and house supplies alike. We drove and drove what seemed like forever in the wilderness, stopping at a gas station that looked like it was straight from the 1940s!!! I looked at the gas meter on the truck and thought..."we don't need gas!"...but she said she always filled up when the needle hit the halfway point because she never wanted to be stranded, but always prepared....for some reason that really stuck with me (perhaps because we pushed OUR car many a time on trips when we had run out of gas!!! Dad...hahah)I remember being intimidated by her because she was such a strong person, seemed to be so in charge of herself and others, she knew what needed to be done and did it!...all things I was not at the time, and still struggle with, so I did look up to her for this.
Aunt Ann really made me feel important on that trip. She gave me assignments of loading and then unloading the truck, organizing boxes and items in her new surroundings, and other things i'm sure but just can't remember. The most important thing is the FEELING I had...I felt more grown up than ever before as if she recognized me as a fellow girl/young woman...(Becca do you even remember how old we were or what year that was?) For the first time I really felt an extreme amount of respect for my Aunt who was moving to the middle of nowhere, all by herself, to teach children like me....would I have done that? I don't know, but it was a poignant experience and wonderful memory...one in which I will cherish!!!
