My mom’s brother, my Uncle Bill, passed away on November 24, 1960 at age 37. I never got to know him but I am eternally grateful that he married Aunt Barb because she was a treasure and a joy to spend time with. I have been visiting Aunt Barb since I was a kid at, amazingly, the same house for 50 years.
She was a straight shooter, fun and feisty, inquisitive, independent and sharp as a tack. Quick to give a hug or express affection, Aunt Barb was always thrilled for whatever good things were happening in her family and friend’s lives. She was a good listener and you never doubted that she was listening because she usually has lots of pertinent questions. It hasn’t quite registered yet that we won’t be having any more long and animated telephone conversations.
Every morning she read the newspaper and knew what is going around the world. She also watched the news on TV and was knowledgeable about who was running her country and her province and her city. Aunt Barb always had an opinion, whatever the subject, and wasn’t shy about sharing it. She often brought a new perspective to the conversation. Raising two boys herself while working and maintaining a house made her challenging to deal with if you are the hapless repair man or lawn maintenance person who showed up at her house. She could be a taskmaster when it came to her house and yard, let me tell you. If you were cutting the lawn, you better be edging it properly, as well. It makes me smile just to think of it! She could be a drill sergeant but she was one with a big heart. If it was family helping out, as soon as the chore was done, she’d offer a drink and that might lead to an appetizer and eventually to a delicious supper. Whoever was sitting at her table always felt pretty comfortable and “at home” at Aunt Barbs.
When we visited her, it was like old home week because she had the same neighbours for decades. She was lucky to have you all because good neighbours are worth gold. She couldn’t have stayed in her house for so long without you. It always took Dick a long time to wash her car or cut her lawn because you were all so friendly and inevitably, Aunt Barb would be outside on the doorstep wondering where Dick went and we’d find him chatting with one of the neighbours. We will miss you, too, as well as the Taggart side of the family that we got to know while visiting at Aunt Barbs.
Cindy and Jenny, Jason and Chrissie, Michael and Paul, Patrick, Margie and precious baby Cooper –Aunt Barb was a proud and doting grandma and you all made her life busy and complete by including her so lovingly and faithfully in your lives. Jason, Pat and Jenny, your dad was always close in her heart and thoughts and he is also remembered lovingly and well by my family.
We’re all going to miss the ginger snap cookies, we all knew where to look for them, her pies were second to none and even in my 50’s, I was still snitching candy from the dining room stash. It is, sadly, the end of an era in my life, a half century of going to Aunt Barbs, to the same house on the same street in the same city with the same wonderful neighbours. In the end, Aunt Barb held out to the end, she never had to make the choice of what to give away, never had to move, never had to leave her house and her neighbourhood. My vivacious Aunt Barb lived life her way to the end.
Franz Schubert said- “Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same.”
Sincerest sympathy and big hugs, from Dick and I, to her much loved family.
