It was all about Mom
It hasn't been an easy 3 weeks...there have been so many tears (but not enough), so many laughs (but not enough). Thank you for your expressions of sympathy and sorrow. Mom was so much more (as we all are) than her physical body. What follows is the eulogy that I read at Our Lady of Peace 2 weeks ago.
"Irene is small, but so is a stick of dynamite – this was written in her yearbook from Stratford High, in 1955. It pretty much sums up who she was.
Mom wore a size 2 shoe, was four foot nine, needed blocks on cars she drove to reach the gas and brake until cars began to be made with more adjustable seats. Size, however, had little to do with her voice, her attitude, or her personality. Some of the words used to describe her include spunky, vivacious, funny, sweet, kind, charming, sparkling. She made people feel at home, no matter where she was or who she was with.
Her golf clubs looked bigger than she was. If you ever golfed with her, you knew she could whack that ball with that club and send it flying and straight. Her size was immaterial. 3 Holes in One and many club championships.
If you ever saw Mom in a show, you knew she never needed a mike. Her voice soared across the audience, as she moved her body across the stage. She was a consummate performer – knowing her place, her words.
Mom preferred to be outside rather than inside, especially in the summer. We’d get the wagon loaded up and pull it down the street to the beach every day. When she became a Grammie, we picked her up and brought her along with us to the beach. She called jingle shells pirates’ toenails, and surprised her grandchildren with her knowledge of nature, much as she surprised us. We all know how a cicada, for example, grows and leaves its outside shell, because she wore the outside left behind part of the cicada on her shirt!
When the wind began to blow, it was time to go ride the waves. Even today, we end up down at the beach during a storm to feel the spray of salt water from the crashing waves.
Irene also loved motorcycles. When she was younger, Dad worked at Pop’s, down at the Seawall, and he played on several softball teams. As such, he had friends who had motorcycles. Mom was always up for a ride. Last summer, she took her last ride on a motorcycle (Harley!). Some of you were fortunate to witness that. No helmet, of course, and waving at us as she went by. Another quote – “That was one fun Broad.”
"Irene is small, but so is a stick of dynamite – this was written in her yearbook from Stratford High, in 1955. It pretty much sums up who she was.
Mom wore a size 2 shoe, was four foot nine, needed blocks on cars she drove to reach the gas and brake until cars began to be made with more adjustable seats. Size, however, had little to do with her voice, her attitude, or her personality. Some of the words used to describe her include spunky, vivacious, funny, sweet, kind, charming, sparkling. She made people feel at home, no matter where she was or who she was with.
Her golf clubs looked bigger than she was. If you ever golfed with her, you knew she could whack that ball with that club and send it flying and straight. Her size was immaterial. 3 Holes in One and many club championships.
If you ever saw Mom in a show, you knew she never needed a mike. Her voice soared across the audience, as she moved her body across the stage. She was a consummate performer – knowing her place, her words.
Mom preferred to be outside rather than inside, especially in the summer. We’d get the wagon loaded up and pull it down the street to the beach every day. When she became a Grammie, we picked her up and brought her along with us to the beach. She called jingle shells pirates’ toenails, and surprised her grandchildren with her knowledge of nature, much as she surprised us. We all know how a cicada, for example, grows and leaves its outside shell, because she wore the outside left behind part of the cicada on her shirt!
When the wind began to blow, it was time to go ride the waves. Even today, we end up down at the beach during a storm to feel the spray of salt water from the crashing waves.
Irene also loved motorcycles. When she was younger, Dad worked at Pop’s, down at the Seawall, and he played on several softball teams. As such, he had friends who had motorcycles. Mom was always up for a ride. Last summer, she took her last ride on a motorcycle (Harley!). Some of you were fortunate to witness that. No helmet, of course, and waving at us as she went by. Another quote – “That was one fun Broad.”
[an aside here- those in the back of the church heard the vroom of a loud Harley as I read this..TRUE!]
Being an adventurer, while living in Lordship and raising a family, wasn’t easy. She got her kicks by going on roller coasters, parasailing while on vacation, going for a ride in the sky in a glider, waterskiing while 9 months pregnant (with me!). Her grandchildren have all been fortunate to go on the rides with her in Disneyworld, her favorite place.
Mom was even adventurous at home. What most of our friends, from back in the day, remember is her grilled cheese sandwiches cooked with the clothes iron.
Irene treated everyone with dignity and respect, and with humor. Greg Ackley was one of her favorite people, and she was one of his favorites. Our friends were always treated well, and usually told a risqué joke or two. She got away with a pretty good tattoo joke for many years, eventually getting her own shamrock tattoo to shake things up a bit.
Mickey and Minnie were her favorite characters, and we knew that purchasing anything for her, with those characters on it, would be a hit with her. Wearing the ears was one of her favorite things to do. To quote my daughter, “If we are really fortunate, we have a person or two that teaches us not to take life too seriously.” That was my Mom.
Being an adventurer, while living in Lordship and raising a family, wasn’t easy. She got her kicks by going on roller coasters, parasailing while on vacation, going for a ride in the sky in a glider, waterskiing while 9 months pregnant (with me!). Her grandchildren have all been fortunate to go on the rides with her in Disneyworld, her favorite place.
Mom was even adventurous at home. What most of our friends, from back in the day, remember is her grilled cheese sandwiches cooked with the clothes iron.
Irene treated everyone with dignity and respect, and with humor. Greg Ackley was one of her favorite people, and she was one of his favorites. Our friends were always treated well, and usually told a risqué joke or two. She got away with a pretty good tattoo joke for many years, eventually getting her own shamrock tattoo to shake things up a bit.
Mickey and Minnie were her favorite characters, and we knew that purchasing anything for her, with those characters on it, would be a hit with her. Wearing the ears was one of her favorite things to do. To quote my daughter, “If we are really fortunate, we have a person or two that teaches us not to take life too seriously.” That was my Mom.
[still make me tear up - this is where I almost lost it]
If you knew her, consider yourself one of the fortunate ones. She was really something, even as she slipped into this last stretch. Her smile was legendary on the acute care floor, and she kissed everyone who helped with her care. “I Love You” was her catch phrase. We knew when she stopped singing, time was getting short.
Goodnight Irene, we will see you in our dreams."
If you knew her, consider yourself one of the fortunate ones. She was really something, even as she slipped into this last stretch. Her smile was legendary on the acute care floor, and she kissed everyone who helped with her care. “I Love You” was her catch phrase. We knew when she stopped singing, time was getting short.
Goodnight Irene, we will see you in our dreams."
It wasn't easy to write - I waited until the last minute, until folks shared memories of her on the funeral home's page, and the Connecticut Post page, until my daughter wrote of her in her amazing blog. I rehearsed it, crying each time I read it. Even still, I had to stop for a moment when I read it from the altar. What kept me going, truth be told, was Mom's voice, remembered from the first time I sang in the Lordship Father's Club, with her in a duet. "Just belt it out and smile, you'll be fine."
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