Fran Pineau-Hines

PINEAU-HINES, Fran, age 80, of Sylvan Lake, passed away November 4, 2014 at home. She was born to Henry and Mary Pineau March 25, 1934 in Royal Oak, MI. Fran graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic School in 1952, receiving her diploma in Nursing from Providence Hospital School of Nursing in 1970. Fran was employed by Beaumont Hospital as a Registered Nurse for over 35 years. She enjoyed playing Euchre, reading, days on the beach, tending her garden, bird watching, and crafting exceptional meals for her friends and family. Fran will be greatly missed by her loving husband, Don Hines; children, Bill (Beth) Carten, Sue (John) Murphy, Michael (Delia) Carten, and Nancy (Jack) Hunger; grandchildren, John, Shannon, Sean, Tara, Joshua, Dane, Briana, and Tyler; step-children, Ken (Connie) Hines and Cheryl (Al) Fiscelli; step-grandchildren, Scott, Kelly, and Kari; and siblings, Henry Pineau, Mary Ann Avenmarg, Kenneth Pineau, Joseph Pineau, Theresa Thompson-Pineau, and Eileen Smith. Visitation will be from 2 – 4 p.m. and 6 – 9 p.m., Thursday, November 6, 2014 at Pixley Funeral Home Godhardt-Tomlinson Chapel, 2904 Orchard Lake Rd, Keego Harbor. A Funeral Service will be held Friday, November 7, 2014 at 11 a.m. with visitation starting at 10 a.m. immediately before services at Pixley Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be offered to the Michigan Humane Society. Condolences may be left at www.pixleyfuneral.com

DO YOU PLAY EUCHRE?

And then a brand new angel flew by. Her wings were slightly crooked, less than perfect, tempting some to say, “Hmmm?”

“I heard she likes to speak her mind,” said one of the old angels, who had already been there for a hundred years, as she boastingly stroked her wings to make sure that everyone knew just how perfect they were.

The new angel took note, stopping in mid flight. She awkwardly landed (having not yet gotten used to her new appendages), turned and looked at the old angel who was primping her wings.

The new angel hopped and fluttered over to the seasoned, winged soul. “Do you know how to play Euchre,” she asked with a sly grin?

“Why, yes! Yes, of course I do. When I was on Earth I lived in Michigan.”

The new angel glanced at her own wings. She stretched them out, and pretended that she had already grown accustomed to them. Hers weren’t as white as those of the perfect angel; Nor as large, or as straight. Hers were woven from a life that wasn’t always easy. They were made from the fabric of a large and strict family. Bits of sibling rivalry and the struggles of growing up in a home with many brothers and sisters, colored her feathers with the shades of their own special family love. Oddly, bits of hot dogs, cut in half, were sprinkled about that part of her feathered tapestry. Her wings were also dusted in colors mixed from holding together a family, as best she could. Strings and fibers of her struggles, peppered the body of her wings. But the edges shone as bright and white as those of the perfect angel. Those edges were built of the pride she had in her children, and their beautiful children. She looked up. She saw that the tips of her new wings twinkled with gold. Tips made of the stuff of the last twenty five years of her life, fashioned from the love of a very good man.

She felt confident, that hers was a good life.

She took a step closer to the perfect angel. “So, you do play Euchre!” Her grin turned a little slyer.

The old angel, nervously shook her head yes.

“Good,” she said. “You got any quarters?”