Jean Brase

Since you are reading this, I must been gone. I wrote this so you all would know more about me, these are things we rarely discuss but I've thought about them often. From an early age I've been blessed... .I remember being in my grandmother’s backyard (behind the deli) my dad carrying me and the man next store handing me a small glass of beer! Helping my Dad deliver the deli goods by bicycle and then by sled in the bad snowy weather what good times we had. The big wooden cover they put over the large window in the back room at the deli, it was huge as I remember and hard to lift. The good humor ice cream truck and my running after it and the driver knowing my name. Nana making cole slaw and potato salad, grating the slaw with an extremely large grate about two feet long and it falling into bowls beneath the grater. Both of us eating a pint of Breyers ice cream and sitting in chairs outside in front of the deli on those warm summer nights. Mr. Baker's ice cream parlor four doors down, scoping my own ice cream out of the silver tubs. Nana loved to watch the Saturday night fights and Tina hating them, what a group! Tina loved to brush my long hair. The penny candy store putting the candy in small brown bags, I loved those show laces. A dine filled up the entire bag. The candy/ice cream store on the other corner where all the kids hung out, those great black and white Sundays. How about the French fry potato store that opened down the street, getting fries than going up to the roof to eat them. The entry from our home was thru a high ceiling window in the hallway, you had to use a ladder.

Putting milk cartons on the cold refrig shelf and that large walk in refrigerator with all that food it was cold in there. Eating the ring dings, snowballs, Hostess cup cakes and devil dogs from the shell; boy those were good. How about those hard rolls, I use to wait each morning for the big brown 3 foot bag to be delivered outside the store, than I pour the hard rolls into the big glass bin in the store. I just loved them with butter, I can still taste them! How about building those forts in the garage out of egg cartons boxes. They were so big the boxes went up to the ceiling and there was so many. Going down the basement with Dad so that he could restock the shelves, it was dark and spooking down there. He use to walk around the store and memorize the items he needed to re¬stock the shelves, go down the basement and bring up 20 items and not miss one (he never wrote it down, what a memory). Gee, my dad was great, I have missed him terribly all these years, there is so much I want to tell him and now I'll have the chance.... This all means so much to me but I'm sure you can't understand or even visualize it.

Athletics was my passion. I started roller skating when I was three stopped at 16 since I grew too big to compete so I moved on to bowling. Won a few bowling tournaments in New York and California; started a bowling PTA league at the kids grammar school, then moved to tennis which I learned at a nearby park in Huntington Beach. I always wanted to beat my friend Norma (in CA), who I thought was a really good tennis player, but never had the chance since she moved then I did back to NY. Tennis has been my life saver. I've met so many good people in both Nassau and Suffolk counties, some have become life time friends. Pi tennis has been just wonderful, playing, then having lunch, sometimes playing bridge, happy hour, what more could you want! Then there is the beach, need I say more - give me a nice warm sunny day and you'll find me at Jones or Robert Moses soaking up the rays. There was a time even in winter I'd be at the beach sitting there with the rest of the crazies trying to hold on to summer, it was cold, we were bundled up in heavy coats, gloves but still getting those last rays. Traveling, I'm done so much at one time it was so important to see foreign places, but I've seen many, Greece, Japan, Australia, China, Egypt, Europe, now Ijust enjoy visiting my kids in CA and being around the family and friends. And now, bridge, another passion.. ..I just love the game so challenging.... I wonder what's next?

My four legged family, Maraphaisa and Pretorious who sat on my lap and kept me company during my darkest hours, their purring and warmth at times kept me going.. .I knew if I left they would be terrified since I'm all they have even known, I was never alone. They have given me much joy as I type this they sit by my side.

My family and kids have been my greatest pleasure. We've had some wonderful times together.. .when they were young we sneak and eat junk food whenever Dad wasn't around, guess I wasn't a good example, but we had fun. They have all grown into wonderful, caring adults with so much to give... .I love them dearly and will miss them.

Thank you Brenda and Tom for being my dearest and closest friends since I was a kid.....you've been so good to me, always supportive and available I can't thank you enough. And you Bob, my brother, who I knew was always there for me and who supported and understood me and helped whenever possible, thank you. And my friends thru the years whom I enjoyed spending time with who stood by me playing tennis with me when I was so sick, and were always there for me if needed them, and just allowing me to be me. There are so many people, friends, family, acquaintances, so many I can't name them all, Nancy, Els, Sharon, Lu, Diane, Marilyn, Debbie, Cathy, Tina, Jean, Judy, Janet, Scott, Joan, Chris, Georgia one of my best friends who died in 2008 and all my new friends/acquaintances I met at the Plymouth Estates, especially the Phase 10 group! I've been truly blessed!! What a wonderful life I had.. .thank you all for making it perfect.... I will miss you! Until we meet again, Jean or JB