A.A.O. 1915-1995

Today would be my mother's 96th birthday and this is a small tribute in her memory.

"Little Adelaide" Adelaide, Ads, Mommy, Mother (never Mom), Nana...... And probably a host of endearments by my father, but I was small when Daddy died so don't remember what he called my mother.

We are gluttons for biographies of famous people, but I have often felt that ordinary folk have lives worth reading about also. Will try to keep this short....... please indulge me, however ;-0

Born weeks early by Caesarean Section (remember the date!!) tiny Adelaide was kept warm in a shoebox. She was born before many childhood vaccinations were created and suffered measles, mumps, whooping cough, and scarlet fever, and was always considered to be 'delicate.'

Somewhere along the way, she outgrew that frailty by sheer strength of will and became a tough, independent force to reckon with.

College educated, artistically creative, and a self-starter, she worked her way through the the later part of the Great Depression and WWII. Widowed at 41, she created a life for herself and me, and also for her father, who came to live with us. My Nana passed not too long after Daddy, and I can't imagine the emotional upheaval in my mother's life.

I was just old enough to remember some of the events of that year, but not all. I grieve to this day on two levels - that of a little girl, and that of a (hopefully) mature woman whose memories are obscured. My mother never completely recovered emotionally from that time.

My mother lived in one house for 37 years, and worked for the same company as a technical editor for about 20 years. She kept a clean house, was a wonderful cook, hosted lively holiday parties, loved to read and work in the garden, played the piano (mostly Chopin and Beethoven), and could tell a good joke.


My mother did not suffer fools gladly and was a woman of strong and usually unwavering opinion. She lived her life, if not with grace, with a grit and determination that was an inspiration to me and to her friends. I've often wondered what sort of person she might have been had life treated her differently......

She was a truly moral person and exacted the same standards for herself as for others.

As with many mothers and daughters, we had our battles, some petty and some not so! Her generation was much tougher than mine, and I am quite opposite from her in temperament in many important ways. But always, her personality was such that I regret none of the lessons I learned from this imposing and stalwart woman. When all is said and done, we loved and admired each other deeply, and that's what counts.

May she rest in Peace for all time.......