Huguette Sink

Thoughts from Amanda

I'm fairly certain that if you're in this room, I don't need to tell you how remarkable Bonnemamen was. She lived a long, and fascinating life, and had a story for every occasion (including some occasions that probably didn't call for a story).
But I came along after a lot of those stories, so what I can tell you is who she was to me.
One of my earliest memories is of being in the stroller, in Dundalk. A sun-soaked blur, and Bonnemamen, singing in French as we bumped over a curb. A few years later that would turn into Matthew and I crawling into her bed after she would stay over to babysit us, and taking eeeeeveery single item out of her "tiny suitcase"(actually her dit bag) to play with. And not too long after that, overnights on school breaks with outings to the Chinese buffet, the bookstore, and the science center.
Stubborn as we both were (and are), our relationship wasn't always easy. She could be old-fashioned, I could be messy, and headstrong. We could both be moody, and snappish. I've jokingly called those overnights "finishing school" on more than one occasion. But she was playful too, wheeking at the guinea pigs at the mall and kicking my butt at mini golf. I may not have learned how to keep my elbows off the table, or how to keep my room clean, but she taught me to knit, to play Scrabble, and how to answer a Jeopardy question correctly; because she swore I was going to be on the show someday, and I needed to know how to do it right. She answered my difficult questions when it might have been easier not to, and she accepted for who I was.
Above anything else, I've come to realize, is that I don't think there's single thing that Bonnemamen believed I couldn't do. She never stopped pushing me to learn, to draw, to achieve, to live life to the fullest. Despite, and perhaps because of, everything she lived through, she sought connection. She believed in people. She chased experiences, and celebration. I hope I can live a life even half as full. I hope we all can.

Huguette was dear to my heart. We met at a group of ladies in Elkins Park Pa who called themselves " the French Mafia". She was warm, had a contagious smile and we shared wonderful moments together, laughing all the way sometimes through our tears. Our children loved to spend time together which brought us even closer. Even our mothers met and shared their experiences.
We tried to stay close after she moved to Maryland and often spoke over the phone sharing the stories of our precious grandchildren.
She will continue to live in my heart.
May her life be a blessing.
Ruth Hartz