my mom

My mom passed away this past Saturday. She was 93. She'd been living with us for the past 4 years.

Here's a picture of her visiting us back in 2005 when we lived in Kent. We lived in Thanet near Botany Bay and so took a lot of walks along the beach. She really enjoyed the walks.

She had quite a life. She was born on a farm in Iowa and taught country school after graduating from Teacher's College.

Then, when World War II started, she decided to leave Iowa. She traveled to Colorado with a girlfriend and worked as a civilian employee of the Air Force. She didn't know anyone there, but she did meet her future in-laws. She met my dad after he returned from the war.

One of her goals was to visit all 50 states -- which she did. She also traveled to several foreign countries -- Mexico and Canada, of course, -- and also England, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Egypt, and Malta. Of all the places she'd been, Colorado was always her favorite.

She never ever "got" jokes. We'd tell her a joke, and then she'd ask "and then what happened?" I was never sure whether she didn't get the joke or was just joking on her own. But, she did like to joke around a little -- sometimes pretending she didn't know who you were.