Be thankful, grateful, patient, charitable, kind, and don’t forget to smile, as it is infectious. God Bless America and Protect Our Military!!
Tribute to one Special Aunt who lived with us as part of our family! RIP Catherine Donahue
I am one of seven siblings, and there have been many projects over the years where my brothers would help me or I them, e.g., building a deck, turning an attic space into a bedroom, and the like.
However, seeing today’s prompt one though came to the forefront of my mind.
My dad had a debilitating stroke in 1958 when I was two years of age. My mom was 2 months pregnant with my kid sister. Dad didn’t get home until after my sister was born in September. Aunt Cass, my father’s younger sister, moved in the Spring of 1959 and lived with us as part of our family until she passed in 1989.
Over those years she helped not only mom and dad paying board but also helped pretty much all of us in times of need. Twice once after we were just married, living in an apartment with our first child on the way our car died. We shopped around and we’re buying a used car and need $1,300 as part of the down-payment.
I went over to ask Mom as Aunt Cass sat quietly listening. She said I can lend it to you. We all knew Aunt Cass, as many who went through the depression kept quite a bit of money stashed away in our room. I told her I would only borrow the money if she allowed me to pay her back with the interest, something she insisted I didn’t need to do.
Six months later, I paid her back with interest, and she said, “If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate.”
RIP, Aunt Cass. I celebrated our birthdays together, as she was born 2/26/1920 and I was born 2/25/1956. She was one special Aunt we had the pleasure to call family. I never thought about it until now, but she was only 36 when this picture was taken. She left work and volunteered to care for her mother, who lost a leg to diabetes while living with my dad’s older brother Larry, at that time. Uncle Larry met Aunt Kitty, and he became the stepfather to her two children when they married.
You know the saying about two women in the kitchen. After grandmom Donahue passed in 1959, a short time after Dad had his stroke. Aunt Cass moved in with us. She never married, but I am told she loved going to the USO dances during WWII. She dated over the years and had a few callers, but nothing ever came of it. I feel now she has had a hard life in the service of others, always tending to those in need. She worked at Hanscom’s bakery main office for 25 years until she retired. As kids, we would look forward to Friday nights when she would bring boxes tied together with bakery string, filled with goodies for us. She holds a special place in our family’s heart.
Who is that person in your life?
Leave a comment