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5 Entries
celina denkins
August 23, 2008
dear family and friends,
we have lost our wittiest, most humorous, most advice-giving, most wise, most brilliant, most diplomatic, most resourceful, most prolific writer, most consoling relative.
what i will hold dear is that there wasn't anything my aunt amelia didn't know and moreover, there wasn't any knowledge she wouldn't share. from my aunt i learned that there is a code of family values that any deeply loving daughter, sister, aunt, cousin and friend can embody - aunt amelia showed us all how to cherish the memories of laughter and conversation.
one of my aunt's greatest teachings was for me to think before i acted. i remember being so frustrated with that lesson. why at 22 years old (at the time) did i need to listen to that ole cliched outdated way of living life. i felt grown and in charge... but those of us quite a number of years older, know that age 22 was just a hair from teenage mishaps and a hair away from a lifetime of adult regret. it would be a lesson, though relunctant to learn in my youth, that i surely embraced throughout the years.
my aunt taught my brother brian and me the importance of honoring our mother. she would say to us that it was not just because it was God's commandment but also because she said so. she was a fierce protector. i remember brian and i expressing so much frustration over the years at the constant reminders and preachings (my aunt knew the Lord) about how we needed to have unwavering dedication to the woman who worked so hard for us to have an abundant life.
in my later years, when i reflected on my aunts teachings, i realized they were necessary tools. my aunts gift for us to see our mother as a treasure was and still is a great blessing. our aunt, along with our beloved grandmother, was a key of life that we needed - there to help us unlock the gifts of respect, of loyalty, of acceptance, of dedication. she loved her own children and grandchildren with God's love. alot of people talk about God's love, but not everyone practices what they preach. she did.
there wasn't anything i couldn't talk to my aunt about. nothing rattled her and nothing shook her universe. think before you act would again be her lesson. nothin more, but that was plentiful. because it taught me a life of evaluating consequences of actions. it also taught me the gift of choosing my battles, wisely and carefully.
aunt amelia would always tell my brother and me to stay strong in the midst of struggle and never let anyone tell you anything that simply isn't the truth of your life and your experiences. my aunt had everyone's back in our family. for that, my own spine stands tall.
thank you always seemed a minimal gesture to say, because when my aunt sent me flowers at every turn - from my accomplishments to my times of loss and grief, her sentiment always meant more to me than a thank you. it meant that i was thought about and remembered. my aunt had a caring and sharp memory. remember how she always claimed to remember the day she was born? my point of asking the question is to remind you all that anyone who can remember coming into this world, will remember the time in between - none of you will never be forgotten by amelia hewett.
with that said, i wanted to write this letter to my family and my aunt amelia's friends who would truly understand and appreciate what a dedicated soldier we were blessed to know. i honor my aunt in this letter because the fondest lesson she taught all of us is the gift of valuing the memories we have of each other - to remember without regret, without consequences, without disrepect and without a bunch of tears....unless you are crying from laughter, that is.
a letter to my aunt:
what is there to say to you aunt amelia that you don't already know? :) pre your eternal years that you are now spending in heaven, you always had the answers. you could dine with the queen in london and talk international politics while educating her how to have a successful royal army. in the same breath, you could sit with a homeless person and speak so compassionately as to have them not only feel understood in their struggle but you could also motivate them to change their circumstances. you were the people's the people while here on earth. i was fortunate enough to be able to say after the frustrations of your lessons wore off, thank you for who you were to society.
what i never got to say to you personally, was thank you so much for being my mother's sister - you were the truest meaning of a how a sibling should be - through the trials and tribulations of sisterly and family ups & downs in general, you endured your role as a valuable family member. you were not only my mother's sister, but her confidant and her best friend. i always respected how the two of you were there for each other, through thick and thin. it did not go unnoticed how you were deeply generous with your wealth of support and knowledge and advice.
when my father passed, just 6 months ago, you wrote this to me in the obituary guest book:
"There are years of many, many more memories of love you and your dad shared. Keep them in your heart and may they give you peace. God bless and keep you always. With love, your Aunt Meia."
i want you to know aunt meia, i am doing the same for you - keeping my many memories of love for you near and dear. may your own children be granted the peace that you wished for me to have in the time of my father's homegoing.
i was saddened when your heart didn't beat anymore, but i understood it in hindsight - you were the one who took the burdens of our family into your heart. literally. when one of your children hurt, you hurt. when your grandchildren were ill, you were ill with them. when your mother suffered, you suffered. when your sisters grieved, you did. when your friends were in pain, you were. when the world was at war, you were right there in the battle. i get it now. it was time for God to rest your huge and heavy heart so that it could eternally beat in heaven. your heart served the Lord and for that, i know you are having a joyous and youthful forever heartbeat now.
i love you and i know God is blessing you. you are with your mother forever now and what greater blessing could you be given... Heaven has gained a true angel and so have we.
i know this letter is long to some, but i could just hear you saying: "so what! write about me as long as you want to. heck, write a book about me. go ahead girl, tell em about your aunt cutie pie!"
with respect and honor in my own heart and thinking before i act...
your niece, Celina
Dorothy Guggenheimer
August 5, 2008
Deepest sympathy, sent on behalf of Dorothy Guggenheimer and Dorothy Bridger, friends from Cardiac Rehab. Both are deeply saddened by the loss of Amelia.
Beverly "Pat" Coleman (Class of '69)
August 4, 2008
Those we Love remain with us,
for Love itself lives on.
Cherished memories never fade,
because one loved is gone.
Those we Love can never be,
more than a thought apart,
for as long as there’s a memory,
they live on in our heart...
Kluepfel family Doug,Ellen,Ashley
August 4, 2008
May God Bless............
James Clemmons
August 2, 2008
Please accept my deepest sympathy, you are in my thoughts and Prayers.
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