written by Bev Nagel,
read at service by Laura Watson
If you only knew my Mom for the past few years then you didn’t really know my Mom. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my memories with you and I hope that they will show what she was really like before her health problems forced her to change.
Most of my best memories involve my Mom laughing. She was always ready for a game of cards…you would have thought you were playing for a million dollars instead of a quarter the way she loved to win! I remember her and my Dad having friends over for card nights and later, when he was gone, my sister, brother and I would have our friends over for card nights and it was just always assumed that Bernie would be joining us. Ray when we find the roll of dimes she won from you, what 10 years ago maybe, we will give them back to you.
As a child and a teen I remember having to sleep on the sofa or the floor OFTEN because we had out of town guests that always stayed at our house. There was only one person I remember my parents not allowing into our house, but we won’t mention her! We had aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and sometimes strangers staying at our house. When it was someone my Mom particularly liked, Aunt Bea or Aunt Gwen come to mind, the house would be filled with laughter. When a friend of my sisters found herself temporarily homeless she came to live with us until she could get herself settled.
When we were in the hospital with her, on her last day, for some reason I kept remembering how she used to hide around corners in the house and scare the heck out of me! Once I found her crouching in the hall, she waved me over and kept telling me shush, so I crouched down beside her, very quiet of coarse and whispered “what are we doing” she said “damned if I know” and walked away laughing!
I remember the smell of fresh baked bread. The wonderful pies, squares, cookies and meals she used to prepare for us. If there was someone extra person around we just set an extra plate. Sometimes we ended up with some real characters at our dinner table! One family dinner comes to mind; she had baked a lemon meringue pie and set it on a seat to cool because she was short on counter space. Ryan sat on the pie and came to us with meringue stuck to his butt. Mom laughed, cleaned off Ryan, scraped the rest of the meringue off the pie and we had lemon pie for dessert.
Mom often came over and spent the night at my house, especially when my kids were young. She would put ringlets in their hair with rags and watch the kids while I did my running around. She would help cook, bake, and do laundry, whatever she could to help. Harry always knew that he would get a good meal when she was around…once, when I was pregnant with my first, my Mom and Harry went to Reno together for a weekend. Some people thought that was odd, they had a blast together.
Her talents at sewing, knitting, crocheting, were not passed on to her children. She crocheted blankets for shut ins right up until she entered the hospital. Many people cherish the baby blankets that she made for them as well as other items.
We have been to her house several times since her passing and several things have stuck us;
One…she has pictures of her grandchildren everywhere. She always displayed pictures she was given and rarely took the old ones down. She loved them all, accepted them for who they were, and always did whatever she could to help them.
Two….we are reasonably certain she kept every receipt, newspaper article of interest and old deck of cards she ever touched (to name a few items). Sandie, Dave and I have a monumental task ahead of us. One that I both look forward to and dread. You never know what kind of treasures we are going to come across.
Three…although her family was very important to her so was her bowling, getting her hair done and her very good friends. Joyce, Betty, Fred, I want to thank you especially for all you have done for Mom over the years. Your friendship meant the world to her and to us.
I like to think that the world is a little better place because she was here. So I ask you please, the next time you have a beer, look up and think of Bernie…’cuz I bet she is lifting a cold one right now and looking down at us!
The following was written and read by Robyn Nagel at her Nana's service:
When I think of my nana I think of the days she cared for me when I was sick, the hand knitted blankets she made for our family, the countless hours she spent watching The Price is Right only with bob barker of course and what a phenomenal woman and role model she was. I had only recently learned about her past, and the hardships she had to go through. She raised 3 beautiful children well; and somehow managed to still make my mom want 3 kids of her own. She was always there to make sure her grand children grew up as strong independent people. She came out to every birthday, graduation, and sporting event when she was well enough to. She never tried to change us in any way and loved and supported us unconditionally. When we went to nana’s house it was covered in pictures of her grandchildren and family. She kept just about everything. Old Coloring books, our favorite toys, she even still had some of our homemade art stuck to her fridge that we made years ago. I never knew how much we all meant to her until recently. I wish now, that I had spent more time with her, talking to her, and learning more about her. And I wish I had known earlier how many stylish old shoes she had stashed away in her closet. Nana made the tastiest jello cake, the most beautiful blankets, and she was the most amazing grandmother in the world. I miss her, but I am thankful that I got spent 16 and a half amazing years with her. I am happy she is in a better place now and I will never forget about her. I would like to finish with a quote by Ralph Emerson, which I feel describes my nana perfectly. “To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” I love you nana.
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