Yesterday my great-aunt Jane passed away in Philadelphia at age 87. My mom and uncles (and we kids) were her only close relatives as she married late in life and had no children of her own. Whenever I visited her, anyone we ran into would say how much she talked about her family in Kentucky, but she refused to move here: she said not in this life would she leave Philadelphia. But until the last few years she always came for Christmas, and the holiday season of my childhood didn't begin until she arrived from the airport -- in her full-length mink with bags full of presents from Nordstrom or Saks.
Yes, Aunt Jane was the type of lady we Daddy Rabbit Girls want to be when we grow old. She was always immaculately dressed, jewelled, coiffed, and made-up, and every afternoon at 5 she had cocktail hour on her terrace with her housekeeper, her Bichon Frise, a snack and a Scotch. Even in her 80s she was attending her monthly book club, and though she had to give up golfing in her later years she still loved to have dinner at "The Club" and sing around the piano bar afterwards. (Her signature tune was "Someone to Watch Over Me.") She was a devout Catholic; she used to work for the Philly archdiocese and she got married in the Cathedral with the Archbishop presiding. She was a supporter of the theater, the Art Museum (in the '70s and '80s her apartment overlooked the Rocky steps), and her alma mater high school where she funded a tuition scholarship for needy girls. She could parallel-park her great big Caddy on a dime, and she said she learned to do it "sitting on a bar stool in Cape May." (She taught me the trick and it always works.)
Unfortunately, with her passing and my little grandma with us only in body not mind, I am the only person of faith remaining in my mom's family. So if you have a moment to spare in the next few days, please say a prayer or even a rosary for the repose of the soul of my dearly loved Aunt Jane....
Yes, Aunt Jane was the type of lady we Daddy Rabbit Girls want to be when we grow old. She was always immaculately dressed, jewelled, coiffed, and made-up, and every afternoon at 5 she had cocktail hour on her terrace with her housekeeper, her Bichon Frise, a snack and a Scotch. Even in her 80s she was attending her monthly book club, and though she had to give up golfing in her later years she still loved to have dinner at "The Club" and sing around the piano bar afterwards. (Her signature tune was "Someone to Watch Over Me.") She was a devout Catholic; she used to work for the Philly archdiocese and she got married in the Cathedral with the Archbishop presiding. She was a supporter of the theater, the Art Museum (in the '70s and '80s her apartment overlooked the Rocky steps), and her alma mater high school where she funded a tuition scholarship for needy girls. She could parallel-park her great big Caddy on a dime, and she said she learned to do it "sitting on a bar stool in Cape May." (She taught me the trick and it always works.)
Unfortunately, with her passing and my little grandma with us only in body not mind, I am the only person of faith remaining in my mom's family. So if you have a moment to spare in the next few days, please say a prayer or even a rosary for the repose of the soul of my dearly loved Aunt Jane....
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