I'm so sorry for your loss Uncle. Everybody who knew aunty Donna well has lost a pillar of strength and steadiness. But yours just got pulled out from under you. So the whole family is holding you amid your loss.
I'm happy that aunty Donna and I got to go on a few road trips together in the last couple of years. She was glad to have gone back "home" - to the family homestead sites in Bowden and Innisfail; where we came across a bunch of your own family's (Smith) history, amid our pursuit of the Connons and Middlemisses. It seems you two were destined to come together for many generations! What a terrific 45 years you've had with her, and given to her yourself (she shared a ton of great memories on our trips).
My first memory of you is you and Aunty Donna pulling up to our house on 15th street on the trike, when I was just about to turn 10. All of us kids playing in the front yard could hear you coming from down the block! So we lined up along the picket fence to form an audience, anticipating your arrival. What a spectacular site when you pulled up with Aunty Donna on the back of that Harley. That was the best entrance to the family you ever could have ever made. I'll never forget it.
Here is one of my favourite childhood memories of Aunty Donna: Chuck and I were maybe 8 and 6 years old. Aunty Donna was baby-sitting us. So of course we were in bed early (ha ha), although still not sleepy! One of the blankets on our bed had holes in it. So I got the idea to use it to pretend to be a ghost, and scare Aunty Donna (yes, hindsight is 20/20!). Amid our giggles and belief that we were transforming ourselves into a ghost, we tossed the blanket over us both and proceeded into the living room with what we thought were scary ghost noises "whoooooo... oooooohhh"!
Aunty Donna stopped whatever she was doing. Became terrifyingly still. Gave us the once over. With her steely eye taking in this spectacle of our own. Then she quietly said: Get back into bed. We naively thought we could test her, and didn't move. So she added a slightly louder, way more firm: NOW. Chuck and I took off back to bed so fast the we left our souls (ghost/ blanket) in our wake! Aunty Donna later told me that was the hardest she'd ever had to work to not laugh at us before disciplining some of her unruly nieces and nephews. I expect many of my cousins have similar memories of experiencing her fine fierceness.
You taught us well, Aunty Donna. To not suffer fools lightly, but to still be kind, polite, helpful and unwavering in doing what is right. For others too. Not just ourselves.
Rest well. You've earned it.
Love,
Mickey
