I'll Be Seeing You

There are people in our lives that we just can't see ourselves ever having to say goodbye to...our parents, siblings, grandparents. For me this also includes a couple of great-aunts and great-uncles. One of those great-aunts is my grandpa's sister Maxine.

She's spunky, loving, loyal, honest, one of a kind. She's the kind of person you just fall in love with.

She's just a little thing. I'm only 5'4, but I tower over her. Don't let her size fool you, though. She doesn't stand for people trying to bully her. And she's strong, stronger than she should have to be.

She married Ivan in 1949. One week before Christmas in 1963, Ivan was killed in a logging accident, leaving Maxine to raise 3 kids on a teacher's salary.

In 1970, Maxine married a wonderful man named Loyle and they were very happy together. He passed away in 1991.

Being born in 1927, you can imagine that she's lost many loved ones including her parents, two husbands, her only sister, one brother, one niece, and at least one brother-in-law and one sister-in-law. Saturday, she went into their waiting arms.

She's had respiratory issues for the past few years, and was admitted to a hospital in Omaha last week. She was heavily sedated, and things looked a little uncertain. Within a few days, she was able to be taken off the ventilator, and everything was looking good. Saturday morning, the doctors called in the family. Her two oldest kids and their spouses, and one of her grandsons and his wife had the honor of being with Maxine at the time of her passing.

She was an amazing woman, and will be greatly missed by all of us who were fortunate enough to have known her.