Goodbye Mrs. Carey. Say "hello" to mom Anita for me.

Today, I attended the funeral for the mother of one of my friends, from the days when I went to St. Anthony's grammar school. Ellen Carey and I were friends all through high school and continue to be to this day. I had lost track of Ellen when she moved to VA. Very recently, last October to be exact, I had hopes of seeing Ellen at our 50th high school reunion. That didn't happen because I got sick. I came across some pictures of us when we were young and wanted to share them with Ellen. As I told her today, I was trying to track her down but, didn't like finding her this way. We have connected and Ellen tells me that she and some other classmates are thinking of getting a luncheon together for our 55th St. Anthony's reunion. Now she has my mail and e-mail addresses.

Now to talk about Mrs. Carey. What a sweet, sweet lady she was. She passed away at age 99. I learned that she had lost her sight and, her hearing was just about gone. She also became frail in the past year. Ellen told me that her Mom was ready to meet her maker. I remember Mrs. Carey with so much fondness. Her door was always open to Ellen's friends. She, my mom and the mom's of our other friends also became chummy. The mom's attended events over the years, mostly going to Broadway shows on bus trips. Mrs. Carey was a very loving, caring and gentle lady. She loved to feed people. She is one of the last of the mom's to leave us, with only Mrs. Houck still among us. I last saw Mrs. Carey at her apartment on Kuser Rd. in Hamilton where I met up with Ellen and some other school chums to have lunch when Ellen was visiting from VA. When I saw her at Mr. Carey's funeral, she tickled me by calling me "Frenchie." My nickname back in my younger days. I was stunned that that was how she remembered me. I would have loved to have visited her one more time, so she could call me "Frenchie" again and, so we could talk about the old days. Not having had that chance, I went to say farewell today to a lady who represents so much goodness, a lady of faith, a lady who loved all children and who was a wonderful mother to her family. Ellen is the shining example of the work her mother accomplished in raising her. You'll be missed Mrs. Carey. God Bless! Give my Mom a hug from me.