My mom's sister Helen passed away on Saturday February 10th at 8:50 PM. She leaves behind 3 sisters, 9 kids, 21 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, two stepgrandchildren, seven stepgreat-grandchildren, four stepgreat-great-grandchildren, and dozens of nieces and nephews. She worked hard her entire life to provide a home for her kids and their families -- Sunday dinner at the Rode house was always a big and noisy affair, and on any given day she had grandkids (or great grandkids) playing in the room she kept for them. Her kids (and grandkids) have always taken care of my mother without even being asked -- keeping her grass mowed, her snow shoveled, running errands, fixing things around the house. My gratitude to them is enormous.
Helen was a fiesty lady, make no mistake. She was hard to fool and was always quick with a comeback. On her deathbed her children asked if it was okay to have Reverend Wayne Prater pray for her (at her service) -- her reply was "I know how to pray." When Kathi and I arrived on Saturday, she was on oxygen and in pretty severe discomfort, but she smiled when she saw us. We traded jokes for a few minutes, but there was a pretty large crowd (50 or so, across five generations) in the hospital taking turns to talk to her so we couldn't talk for long. I'm extremely grateful I got a chance to say goodbye and to hold her hand for a few minutes.
One of the last things she said to her kids was "it's been a great ride, now get out of my car."
Thanks to my cousin Keisha for the picture above, taken just a couple of weeks ago. Helen will be missed by many, many people.
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