Aunt Dorothy

Monday's w/ Michael

One week ago today, my great-aunt Dorothy passed away. She was 95. Since she was 65 when I was born, I guess I always viewed her as "old." You may think, "Well, you viewed her as 'old' for 30 years, you shouldn't be surprised she's gone." But in a way, it almost had the reverse effect on me. I always viewed her as "old", she's been "old" for 30 years, I always thought she would just always be "old". It's actually kind of hard for me to grasp that she's gone.

Dorothy never married, but it certainly never appeared to bother her. I think she viewed it that instead of having "x" number of children, she had 19 "children" (her nieces and nephews) and 86 "grandchildren" (her great nieces and great-nephews). I'm sure some of her other great nephews spent a lot more time at her house than I did, but I have plenty of memories of being over there growing up. I probably played more games of "Ghost in the Graveyard" there than anywhere else. I remember playing Connect Four at her house. I remember eating cookies in her crowded kitchen. I remember the entire family packed into her basement to open Christmas gifts.

I have another 95 year old great aunt who never married named Sylvia. I didn't realize it until recently, but Sylvia and Dorothy have been close friends for probably 90 years. (I can't imagine having a friendship that lasts that long). They used to walk to school together. Jane took Sylvia down to see Dorothy a couple weeks ago after Dorothy had taken a turn for the worse. Dorothy brightened up when Sylvia entered the room. Sylvia talked to her for awhile and then before she left, she told Dorothy "The next place we are going is going to be so much better than this."

I know Sylvia is right. This place hasn't been extremely easy on either of them. Dorothy was born with a limp. It was never easy for her to get around. But I'm pretty sure that at 4:50 PM on Monday, March 29, 2010, Dorothy went sprinting into Jesus' arms. I bet she was fast. I also bet she hasn't stopped running since. She's probably been running all over Heaven with her mom and dad. She's probably been running with the 9 brothers and sisters she had to bury at such a young age. She's probably been running up and down the streets of gold. Running like she was never able to do here on earth.

For a lady who never married, never had any kids, and rarely traveled outside of Adams and Wells counties in Indiana, Dorothy touched a lot of people. I know I was certainly blessed by knowing her. Thanks for everything, Aunt Dorothy. We love you and look forward to running with you soon!