Mom,
You are sorely missed and I love you! Can't believe how you loved me unconditionally...even when I laughed at you when you broke the wooden spoon over my butt. Love and miss your spags and balls.
God Bless you Mom.
Rick(y)

Eulogy for Lena Margaret Germain Hubbell   (written by Gerald F. Hubbell, Jr. 1-20-16)
Lena Margaret Hubbell, was born in Syracuse NY, to the Germain family in the spring of 1929.  Her father Michael Germain was Italian, and her Mother Lena Mills Germain was Dutch and American Indian. She was raised in East Syracuse, graduated Eastwood High School, and worked at F. W. Woolworths, the ancient and famous five and dime store. She worked at the soda shop, and my future dad would go in and get an ice cream soda just to see her  She would get in trouble with her boss every time because he would catch her giving Gerry a little extra ice cream  or a little toooo many toppings or maybe just a little toooo much attention   Anyway, it was the beginning of a life long relationship of commitment and love. They were married on May 17, 1952.  
They grew up during the great depression so they were natural born penny pinchers.  My dad worked for General Electric and Mom was a homemaker and house wife, raising us 2 boys, Rick and I He gave her $55 a week for years to buy all the groceries, and she would complain that she could never even buy a new pair of shoes because my dad was so adamant about budgeting their money. They did well as most couples at the time, living on only one income, but they a habit of keeping everything! In her later years, she would even get mad at us when we would try to throw something out that was totally useless, worn out, or even broken And she and dad would keep food forever even if it was stale, or we'd find food that had expired 6 years beforehand, still in the refrigerator That was just the way they were brought up, that everything purchased should be used, and not just thrown away 
A few months ago she actually stopped her walker in the doorway of a restaurant, blocking people from going in or out, just to stare at a penny on the ground, thinking of trying to pick it up, even though she KNEW she wasn't supposed to bend over for ANY reason.  She would even take the time, no matter how long it took, counting out the correct change from her purse to pay for something, every penny mattered. We were in line at the DMV when she was giving her car to Adam, and we were almost to the counter when she made Adam give her a dollar for the car She was not a tight wad, she was just raised to respect and save money, and was only teaching Adam that nothing comes free.  By the way when are you moving out of the house? 




Because she was a stay at home mom, she kept a clean house and cooked every meal, and yes her spaghetti was awesome.  BUT other than the spaghetti, according to Rick, while he was in high school, he claims he didn't have to worry about trying to keep his weight down for wrestling cause he just didn't eat her lousy cooking anyway 
I remember growing up we had the SAME meals every week, meatloaf on Monday, pork chops on Thursday And we were made to eat the vegetables too My dad would say there are kids in other countries that would love to have that food, now eat In other words, a meal was a luxury and a blessing, not to be taken lightly.  He was right.
Because she took care of everything in the house so well, while growing up, Rick and I never had to do many chores except take out the garbage, mow the lawn in the summer, and shovel snow in the winter When I went off to college, I called her after the first week and said mom I just washed my clothes, why are my underwear and socks pink?  She said: did you separate the colored clothes from the whites when you did your laundry?  And I said: Uhhhh no.... ahhh You never taught me that!  
There were many times she would get upset or mad at one of us, but usually it was Rick... She used to say he reminded her of her brother Guy, he was always mischievous She'd be cooking, when we were little kids, and she would chase after Rick with a wooden spoon and try to spank him with it. One time she broke the spoon on his butt, and he turned around laughed at her and said you can't hurt me! which only made her madder. We knew when we had REALLY made her mad when she would say to the both of us: Just wait until your Father gets home! Boy we KNEW we were in trouble then 
She loved to watch football, especially Syracuse University or the Carolina Panthers, and yes even the dreadful Buffalo Bills Her other hobbies included reading, bingo, reading, bowling, playing cards, reading, puzzles, watching TV, and yes, reading. Even as a little girl, she loved to read books SO much that one time I asked her a few years ago, on average, how many books do you read per week? and she said about 3 or 4. I did the math and told her that 4 books times 50 weeks are 200 books per year, times 60 years is 12,000 books!  She couldn't believe it It was mind boggling
She used to get most of her books at the library and would ALWAYS put a little pencil mark on the first page of each book after she read it, so when she would go to the library each time, she could tell right away if she had read that book before At one time a few years back she couldn't find any books to read in the library, because almost ALL the books had her mark on them! 


She loved her family most of all, and so much to the point she would actually worry about us And when Rick and I would disagree about something, she was so worried that we would end up not speaking to each other. I assured her that that would never happen, but she was always concerned about the family staying together that was her top priority. She would always preach that your family comes first She would even get upset at Andrea and I for going to church with the kids on Christmas eve, as she felt the family should be together.  But we would still go, and yes, even if Pastor Mike Frese was preaching
She would always preach to us that we should show affection to our wives.  She would ask me did you tell her you love her? as I'd hang up the phone after talking with Andrea Mom said that when she was growing up, she was the youngest of 4, and she never really got much affection from her parents, nor ESPECIALLY from her older brother Guy!  By the way, thank you so much for coming Uncle Guy and Aunt Delores  Actually, the truth is she loved Guy deeply because he was the closest to her in age, and she said he was always teasing her growing up which is truly a form of affectionExcept the time when she was about 5 or 6, she remembered he escorted her down the block to the theatre got her in and then took off with his buddies, when he was supposed to have stayed with her... Maybe Guy got the wooden spoon that time
It was the main reason she said she was so attracted to my father, when they were dating, because he showed her the affection that she had craved so much. It was real important to her that we understood that affection was more important than anything else. She loved her husband dearly, and her faithfulness and love toward him was an example to us how to love unconditionally as well  He passed away 7 years ago yesterday, and she had missed him tremendously But about 2 or 3 years after, when I'd take her to lunch, she started checking out the older men she would see in the restaurants and she would ponder aloud: I wonder if he's married? I don't think she was ever really serious, just a little lonely...  
She loved to talk on the phone and would always have a million questions about anything she wanted to know, especially if we hadn't called her, or visited, in a while  and we used to say: Here comes the 3rd degree The worst part was when she would interrupt your answer and ask another question!  I made her laugh when I used to have to tell her, over the phone no more questions just to get her to let me get off the phone and get back to work It got so bad that when she would call me, or I would call her, the FIRST thing I would say over the phone was NO questions It was easy to make her laugh, and she always had a great sense of humor.  

Mom was also quick to doubt tho and when she didn't believe you, she would quickly say: How do YOU know or I don't THINK so and Oh, I DOUBT it. It got to be SO regular that we ALL started, even her grandkids, saying them randomly back to her, just for a laugh. They'd say how do YOU know grandma??? She was always full of laughter and always had a twinkle in her eye when she smiled. Anyone that met her would say, she's such a sweet lady
She absolutely loved babies and little children, and even if we were out in public and they were total strangers, she would comment on how cute they were and she would always ask about how her grandkids were and WHEN could she SEE them again?  She loved getting flowers and would always remark when going outside in the spring how beautiful everything was, or how gorgeous the leaves on the trees were, in the fall when they changed colors. She was always amused and happy about the little things in life, and did not take them for granted, like most of us tend to do 
Before they were married, my dad went off in the Navy and my mom sent him the book, The greatest story ever told He was not a church goer at the time, and that book changed his life She was instrumental in bringing him to Christ. 
She was instrumental to the beginning of my faith journey as well. When I was old enough to talk, she taught me to pray every night before going to bed. I think it made me aware early on that God existed and it was important to pray to him. I remember of course the Lord's Prayer. But the other prayer I'd long forgotten and had to look up, that she taught me, was:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
She always reveered the Mother Mary, and Mary was her role model for life.  She taught us the meaning of reverence, even though we had no clue what that was till we got a little older.  She kept taking us to church when we were in high school, even after my dad stopped going because he slept late on the weekends, exhausted from working and going to night school at Syracuse University.  Her most common expression was: Jesus, Joseph and Mary!.. but unfortunately that was when she was mad so nope she wasn't perfect either



She had a few heartfelt, meaningful and powerful sayings I often heard, as I was growing up, that had a life-long impact on me, and has helped guide my actions over the years in many ways. 
She would always remind us to respect your elders
One of her favorite sayings was You get more with honey than you do with vinegar, which obviously meant if you were nice to people you will receive more than if you are not. 
Then there was the saying that had the most impact on me, and I think was the one that was the most important to her Early on I had no idea that it actually came from Scripture. It's referred to as the Golden Rule
From LUKE chapter 6: verse 31 
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
If mom knew more scripture by heart, I'm sure she would quote from 
Philippians chapter 2: verses 3 and 4 
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others 

And she would probably also quote from 
John chapter 13: verses 34 and 35
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. 
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.   
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
May Lena Margaret Germain Hubbell's legacy of laughter, affection, kindness, compassion and love, be an example for all our lives and as it lives on in us let us all continue that legacy, as she would want it in her honor and in Christ's name May God Bless Amen

Ma Hubbell was a very special lady. She will be missed.

I am so sorry for your loss. Mrs. Hubbell was loved by all. Picturing her listening to the Magic Daddies and smiling!

Mrs. Hubbell,
Rest in the peace and love of God. Certainly you are in a much better place than us but in time we will all be together in God's Grace. I know Gerry and the family will miss you terribly. May the Peace of the Lord be with you all.

Mom Hubbell will missed.May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

~Teri & David~

So sorry for everyone's loss. I never met Lena, but I know she raised some amazing children. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the family.

A lovely lady and wonderful Aunt. Rest in peace and say hi to Uncle Gerry for us.

RIP Lee,I miss watching Criminal Minds with you while i clean! Hugs from Steve and I.

RIP Lee! I miss watching Criminal Minds with you while i cleaned!! Hugs from Steve and I.

So, today I ordered flowers.  The lady asked me for the name.  Without thinking...I said Mom Hubbell.  The lady then said, "so that is the name for the card'?  I said yes ma'am....Mom Hubbell.   She was gracious and her kindness was heartfelt. We will miss you.  Hugs all around.

Mom, I miss you already. You were a great Mom and I was so blessed to have you as my Mom! You loved me unconditionally and I love you unconditionally. See you again someday!

I miss you dearly, your caring and loving ways, you were always there for me no matter what, you were my second mom!

My thoughts and prayers are with your family. Mrs Hubbell was such a sweet, fun lady. I'll miss seeing her at the beauty shop. Always such a pleasure. May these happy memories of that gentle, kind smile and sincere laugh help carry you thru this difficult time.

A loving and caring woman who will be missed by all.

Dear Hubbell Family,

Our thoughts and prayers at this sad time.  Lee was such a sweet person and we always enjoyed seeing her.  Peace to you,  Kay and TJ Guyton

OBITUARY

Lena Margaret (Germain) Hubbell

March 26, 1929 – January 15, 2016

Mitchell Funeral Home at Raleigh Memorial Park

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