Marilyn was my aunt, my mom's sister. My mom was three years older than Marilyn and she called her Meme, and my brothers, Ross and Dan, and I called her aunt Meme. Meme became my mom, when my mom, Janice, died of cancer at 52 years old. Aunt Meme was in my life from day one. She made me a stuffed doll with brown skin that I named Vivian, who lost a leg somewhere along the line. She made me my first quilt, out of left over Christmas fabrics; red and green corduroy, and white flannel. I had Vivian and that quilt my entire childhood and they were special to me. Dear Aunt Meme, When we were kids, we loved to come to your house for Christmas and slide down the stairs. You showed Bub how you could flip your teeth around in your mouth and scared the bejesus out of him, ha, ha!! You always had the best sense of humor, and I loved you for it. I remember the time we came for Christmas and when we got to your house, Santa was there! It was really, your Grampa Thad dressed up in the old buffalo hide coat you had. I appreciated that you always tried to make things fun for everyone. I remember the times you all came to CA for summer vacation and we made tie die shirts, and halter tops, and went to Disneyland. And when we stayed in the cabins on the Snake River in WY. And the time you and mom and Nan and Bub and I all went to see Seals and Crofts, our first concert, and two guys were up on the rocks naked jumping up and down. We all never laughed so hard in our lives. That was 1974, and it turned out that you were to marry one of those guys! When I was a teenager you used to send me the best cards and books, all of them were encouraging. My favorite were the Boynton ones, with the funny hippos and animals. I think you were probably getting sober at that time. One summer when I was in high school my mom drove the little green VW bug with me and Dan in it, to see you. We stopped on the way and picked crab apples, and she told us you would love them. When we got there, you showed us how to eat them with salt on them, and they were sour but really good with salt. When my mom was sick, after we moved to Massachusetts, you came out and stayed with us to help mom, and give us moral support. I remember watching you decorate the Christmas tree all by yourself one of those times; nobody else wanted to do it. Both you and Grama Gerry took turns coming out to be with mom and us during that awful time, and it meant the world to all of us. After my mom died you told me you would be my mom, and I was so grateful. When I got sober, you became my role model, and I have been extremely proud of you, occasionally bragging to my friends about what a great aunt I have, and how lucky I am to have you in my live. Even my friends love you and they've never met you. I loved all our visits, usually in the fall, when I flew out to stay with you and Bill for a few days. Those were good times! We had fun going to your quilt shop and hiking and running with Bill and your dogs. You always left me a basket of sweet things by my bed and it made me feel so loved. We made some quilts together and that was the most fun of all! First we made the two quilts for Dan’s twins, and another one for Luke, then we made four quilts with the same design and gave them to friends and family. My favorite way to make quilts was with you. I loved that we both loved nature so much. And that we both loved to stay home on the weekends, and that we both loved to sew and work on a project together. When I finished my Bachelor's Degree last year, you were so supportive, and encouraging. It meant the world to me that you believed in me so much, even more than I did. I loved that you appreciated everything so much, and being with you was always fun. I feel like you are always with me now, and it's a wonderful feeling. I will think about you every day of my life, aunt Meme. Michael and I both love you so much! Love, your niece, Mary