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PHYLLIS ST. JOHN Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for PHYLLIS ST. JOHN
2 Entries
Laura Freund
May 4, 2011
I'm blessed to have had a love affair for nearly 53 years with my beloved Aunt Phyllis, who graced my life with her beautiful spirit. For my bothers' children, she was their beloved Aunt Fifi, for her grandson, David, she was his beloved Grandma Go Go when he was little, and for me, she was my beloved second mother my whole life long.
As a chld, I remember her lovingly tucking me into the slim bed in her back room filled with exotic books and the captivating smell of incense and perfume. To this day, this is one of my favorite smells in the entire world, for I travel back immediately to her home, to her heart, and to her arms. She was my protector, a stunning force of nature, a beautiful orchid or iris, who read me stories, took me to the Fresno Art Center, and encouraged my love of reading.
During my teenage years, she and my beloved Uncle Dean, whom I had a love affair with for thirty years, continued to foster my love for literature and sports. They were rare people who, once in a lifetime, if one is lucky, find you and allow you to find yourself in the midst of their love.
As a result, I will never forget what she or my beloved Uncle Dean gave me over the years--me, in measurable part--as well as their legacy of literature and love, which I shall wear like a beautiful orchid corsage the rest of my days.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout, the young girl, reminisces on one summer, where she encounters racism, near death, but most importantly, remembers the enduring love of her father, Atticus Finch. As she poignantly says near the end, "The summer that had begun so long ago had ended, and another summer had taken its place and a fall. I was to think of these days many times of Jem, and Dill, and Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus."
Like Scout, I, too, think of my summers in Fresno many times, of my beloved Uncle Dean and Aunt Phyllis, of their tree in the backyard with the swing that reminds me of my childhood, of Uncle Dean's basketball court, his own "Field of Dreams," where we forged memories, where we laughed, and where we were family, and of Aunt Phyllis' spectacular garden, her rainbow of flowers taking root in the backyard, like my warm memories taking root over the course of many summers and over the course of my life, but most importantly, I think of their enduring love, and I remember.
Therefore, today, I choose not to see my beloved Aunt Phyllis' absence as a grand goodbye, but rather, as a later opportunity for me to give her a grand hello.
My deepest love, Laura
becky
May 1, 2011
we love you and will miss your smile
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