Ms Phyllis Anastasia Reimer

My name is David E Reimer HLF. I am the youngest of three children and writing on the behalf of my Mother, Phyllis A G Reimer with regard to her recent passing. These words reflect on and perhaps illustrate, if I am lucky and skilled enough, some of the Blessings and Moments she received, strived for with others and inevitably gave back in her brief life experience. I use the word "brief" here selfishly. I wish she were here today and years to come, to continue that giving experience and share with us her unassuming, generous heart and unique view of the world that she offered to us with a sense of innocence and the simple factor of Love. My thoughts and words fail me as I struggle to accurately describe and condense the full scope of participation or influence in life that my Mom so completely committed and engaged herself to in the world during her lifetime. Never the less, I make an Honest, though awkward, attempt to bring to light at least some of who Phyllis was and continues to be. Phyllis was born Adventurer... an Explorer... A liver of Life who cherished and celebrated the experience of life around and within her. She loved the growth of things and had a strong attachment to the Beauty she saw in both People and Nature. I can remember some of my early memories with her... sitting next to her near the rock garden at our home in Hales corners, Wisconsin. She would tell me the names of the plants she was growing in there. One time she picked a petal from a California Poppy and handed it to me. She told me to look really close. I must have been about four years old. I held the petal up to the sun and could see radiating thru the tiny cells in the petal.. bright, orange, glistening, full of light and illuminated by the sun. Being with my Mom was like this for me. Full of Sun and Illuminated. She embraced Life with that same brilliance and life seemed to shine through her. Her presence glowing with the essence of Life. She did not keep this life within herself but, gave it back in innumerable ways. She was an active volunteer fo many years at the Milwaukee Public Museum in the Botany department and developed life long friendships with those she worked with there. It was not simply the museum that she was fascinated with, (and she was). It was more so the people that worked there and their genuine inquisitiveness, wonder/appreciation for Life, it's origins, it's history, it's changes, it's future and preserving it... all cultivators in a garden of Life. Her early experiences with the Museum, Hales Corners Garden Club, Meals on Wheels, Hales Corners Women's club all augmented her previous degree in Zoology from Marquette University and help establish her more global presence in the world after she moved from Wisconsin. She went on to teach English in Poland and Russia, studied Penguins and Whales on a Zodiac boat in the Antarctic, finally moved to Greece where she received her certificate of achievement from the Language Institute of Athens, becoming fluent in the Greek language. In a very short time she immersed herself into the global world, dedicating her time to FAWCO, (Federation of American Women Overseas- www.fawco.org ~"The FAWCO Foundation - is an independent entity, which, since its establishment in 1967, has donated more than $1,000,000 in education awards and development grants worldwide. FAWCO was granted special consultative status to the Economic and Social Council of the UN in 1997".~), and AWOG, (American Women's Organization of Greece- www.awog.gr ~"AWOG’s Community Services activities and projects are numerous and diversified to include education, health and social welfare for the people in Greece, particularly those in great need"~). Her natural philanthropic talents and radiant energy were well suited for this work and her collaborative works with these organizations has contributed to so many communities around the world. As I look around her home. I see not the collection of "things" that might decorate a home or talk about her so much. What I see is a story of the world. Not simply her own but the story of people and cultures around her that she encountered and Loved. Things about tem. There are baskets of pine cones, seashells, feathers, sketches, beads, books, letters from those who befriended her along the way, photos of people and the world they live in from day to day and how they contribute to it. Her own achievements hidden haphazardly away in various drawers and files. She glorified the achievements of others. She glorified Life. The items in her home read like pages in a novel describing a celebration of Life of the world we live in, together, as a Family and Community that, in spite of the harsher realities, strives to grow and become more... reflections the Beauty we may often overlook but, in essence are and can come to realize. I was writing to my Uncle Charles, (her brother), and had these thoughts: "The Artist moves the paint to illustrate a likeness for others to see and appreciate. It only needs to be seen, felt, experienced and shared." In this sense, Mom was an Artist, a painter using the experiences of Life as her pallet and an accomplished one by my impressions. I see The vision of her eyes and it impresses my own. It Moves and compels me to Live and Love Life. I'm not sure why~ A pine cone is just a pine cone. A pot shard is simply clay, isn't it? Maybe it's because I am a grieving son and searching to grasp the fuller meaning of her Life and it's foundations or my own. After all she gave me Life, and is, at least, some part of my own foundation. Maybe it's because I miss her so incredibly much and need something to hold onto in the absent of her warm, embracing arms. Maybe the Art of living life Intimately and with Beauty is simply her gift to the World... to look through innocent eyes, seeking the Beauty in each other and the things around us, that I hold close to me and reminds me of her. The simplicity of the pine cones, the feathers, the rocks, the shells, those pictures of people and cultures around the world becomes so much more. They are Life in all of it's amazing Grandeur and Life is beyond common value. What a different place this might be... even if we tried as a Human collective, only once in awhile, to believe that beauty exists and helped each other to see it. We seem to easily forget about it when we wake up to a cup of coffee and shake out the daily news paper, gasp at the nightly news, dodge gun fire while walking to the store, bombs dismantling villages and homes. It's easy to become distracted and forget. Every once in a while, though, the unique individual comes along to remind us of the very real reasons we should value life and protect it. Phyllis was one of these. I thank her for this gift and pass it on to you and anyone who would listen. With my deepest Love and sorrow, I am missing her desperately but, she's passed on the pallet and we can become masters in the Art of Life and Living it. We can paint~ With all of my Love, my sadness for the loss of not only a nurturing Mother but Friend to many, and the Joy for having been fortunate enough to have had her as a part of so many others lives including our own. Sincerely and with Love, David E Reimer H.L.F. "Life is the Gift. Living it is opening the Gift. Love is sharing that together with others." P.G.R. October 12Th 1934 - August 1st 2009 Phyllis, (Daughter of Roman E. Galasinski and Florance Margaret Stamm), is succeeded by her brother, Charles R. Galasinski, wife Nancy Galasinski and their children Scott C Galasinski, (his wife and children), Kristie Galasinski and her son Christopher, Phyllis' three children Robert C Reimer, (his current wife Dawn Reimer, first wife Cherylanne Reimer and Roberts three children Jessica, Reanna and Sarah), Daughter Phyllis A Karns, her Husband Bernie Karns and their children Kiraline and Carter), and son David E Reimer HLF If you have pictures or comments to offer in remembrance of my Mom that you would like others to see, you may Post them here or email me directly at phyll2raison@yahoo.com and I will post them for you. David E. Reimer H.L.F.