My Other Mom

Last year we lost a lady who had been close to my heart. She was one of the steadfast people that I knew when growing up.

She was married to my Dad's brother and had 4 children. Two sons and two daughters. They we close to my age and when Dad and Uncle left to go hunting, fishing and other guy stuff, Dad always drove up and dumped me off on her. She took it in stride and was always kind and beautiful to a growing child.

My Mom was usually working, helping others, or somewhere who knows what kind of a mission she was on half the time. Figure out who was sick, having a baby, or needed her. She was there. Including working several jobs to help support all of us.

Mrs Bonnie had a long life. Some happy times and a lot of sad times. She lost one of her children to lung cancer in 2000. She broke her hip in the 90's and never really recovered from it. She had a mild heartattack in 2001 and was never far from home after that.

She would have loved to travel, but never made it. She did take a trip to California in the 80's and talked about all the beauty of the desert and flying in an airplane over this vast land. Her sister and niece took her many places in the state.

Whenever I left on a trip She always wanted to know where I had been and what all I had seen. She loved to get letters or cards from the trips so I always tried to send her something. One trip I called her from Alaska and Her daughter said she talked about it for weeks.


She remained a well loved Christian and the people of the church came to see her often. She was usually upbeat and happy and shared stories of her life in a funny story or made it seem you were there. The ghost story of Coopers Plantation stands out in my mind. It was never a type of tale the family told, but going by the old mansion place when she was little girl' she swore you could hear a moaning and crying of a slave some one had beaten to death. War between the States period not this century.

I was with Her and the night she passed away another old tale told me it would probably be that night. The moon had a blood red circle around it. I had never been with anyone who passed away and it was sad but she was ready to go.

Happy Mothers Day