Meet Rose, my very Italian (Sicilian to be exact) Great Grandmother. On December 15th she asked my Uncle, her son, to take her up to her room to sleep. She had been sleeping on the couch, watching TV. That night, in her sleep, she went to be with God. I will miss her greatly, but over the last two-ish weeks I have had the opportunity on many occasions with friends, family, and even strangers to celebrate her 101 years of life. I can only hope and pray that I too could be as fortunate to live that long with the heath and vigor and love that she did.

At the funeral Katherine, a good family friend who was fortunate enough to spend three days a week with my Great Grandmother during the last year of her life, gave the eulogy. She spoke of how my Great Grandmother saw the world, with love and passion and beauty. She enjoyed all of God’s creations, especially the beach and the ocean. And as Katherine described my Great Grandmother Rose, I thought, what if we could all see through Rose colored glasses, if we could see the world as she did.

I will miss her more than I can express. I regret that I did not get to spend more time with her, hear more of her stories, but I find comfort in knowing that her stories will live on through her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and abundance of friends.

She was an amazing woman. During the depression she was sent to live with a wealthy family and she had a pony. Her husband, my great grandfather, who came into the country illegally from Sicily went to Alaska during the gold rush there. He fell into a patch of ice and his dog sled dogs pulled him out. He died when my Great Grandmother was 32 from a heart condition cause by the exposure to the cold ice and water. She designed and made wedding dresses and sold them to department stores. She made all of the clothes for her family. She was a fantastic cook. She loved Italy and anything Italian. She cherished photos of her family. I am like her in so many ways, and I am honored to have even known her, much less to have called her family.

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