Aunt Pink
Remembered
Sadly to say, Aunt Pink passed on in late Saturday,
June 15, 2002
She will be missed by so many,
from the
travelers at the Travelers Aid in Wisconsin, to
the community groups she worked with in NY
and Vermont, the many visitors she entertained,
the groups she brought together, and her own
family, who she loved and helped in so many
ways. She enriched the lives of many people and lived
lightly on the earth.
Here in "OReegone,"
as Aunt Pink called it, we will remember her with an Aunt Pink
garden: a Japanese Maple and lots of colorful flowers (she loved
red the most) to remind us of her every day, so that her spirit
is with us.
She will not be forgotten, and is loved by many.
~Suzie
From Cecily, Aileens'
Niece, who lives in New York:
"I am so sorry that my family cannot be there
to help celebrate Aileen's
life. I was fortunate to be able to spend three weekends with
Aileen last
Fall when she was still up and around. And my sister Dianne and
I cherish
the time we were able to spend time with her during her last few
weeks - It
was so nice to see so many of her friends there.
We have wonderful memories of Aileen.
My sisters, brother and I loved to put on shows for
our parents (I'm not
sure we could get anyone else to sit through them) - Aileen was
our biggest
supporter - Not only was she our costumer and make-up artist,
but also our
most enthusiastic audience member.
When my sister, Dianne and I were still in grade school,
our parents took
us to NYC to "see the sights." The very best part of
the whole trip - even
better than the ferry ride 'round the Statue of Liberty - was
the visit we
made with Aileen to a genuine Greenwich Village night club. Aileen
arranged
for us kids to play the piano during the piano player's break.
Boy, did we
think we were hot stuff! And Aileen got such a charge out of it!
When she lived in Rochester, she hosted tea parties
for her grandnieces and
their "pet quality" poodle. She had a child-sized table
and chair under her
beautiful Hawthorne tree amidst a bed of Veronica - Veronica had
pretty much
taken over her lawn. (While Aileen was carefully cultivating HER
Veronica,
all the neighbors were tearing up their lawns to get rid of it.)
Later, when she moved to Vermont full-time, we spent
a week each summer
with her on Ames Hill. We had such fun - picking blueberries for
deep-dish
blueberry pie, sawing down trees to "keep the view,"
wandering through the
woods while Aileen pointed out jack-in-the-pulpits and Indian
paintbrushes,
and swimming in the always-frigid South Pond.
All of us kids were terrified of the garter snakes
that sunned themselves
on the stone wall that ran between the main house and the guest
house. We
felt somewhat better when Aileen addressed them by name - "Yup,
there's
Eppie; she's the mom," Aileen would say - although we still
gave that stone
wall a wide berth when we walked by it alone.
Aileen amazed us with stories about how Lester Whitney
could find water
with a stick. Why, she even had a bathtub in her basement to collect
the
water we used. Speaking of which, always conscious of the water
table,
Aileen told us that we were not allowed to flush the toilet unless
it was
absolutely necessary. We thought that was great - She was one
neat lady!
So many memories, and we miss her so.
But actually, the main reason for this note is not
to speak about Aileen.
I am sure you have hundreds of your own stories -
Instead, I want to express how much my family appreciates
what you did for
Aileen. Without your loving care and day-to-day support, Aileen
would never
have been able to lead the life that was so important to her.
She felt
independent and self-sufficient for years after that was no longer
true.
That was because of the efforts of so many of you. You extended
her life and
made it a life she enjoyed living. For that, you will always have
a place
in our hearts - You have our everlasting thanks.
We hope that we will be able to express our appreciation
to each of you in
person on September 7. We invite you all to King Cemetery at 2:00
for a
short interment ceremony and reception afterward.
Our best to you - Cecily
If you
have memories and stories about Aunt
Pink- Aileen,
that you would like posted on this page, please click below to
email me: