Mom has been laid to rest. I just wanted to say thank you to Para and the rest of the Admins/mods here for working so hard over the years building such a fine community.

And a thank you to you all for the words of support and prayers. The compassion here helped see us through a difficult week.


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My mother passed today. She suffered for many years with diabetes, heart problems, and degenerative arthritis which caused severe curvature of the spine. Her pain is gone now.

I wanted to share a little about her with my imaginary friends here as a way to honor her.

Mom worked for years for a contractor that provided many services for the U.S. Navy. When I was young, we didn't watch the news for updates about the Vietnam War. One of mom's duties was to track metrics on Navy planes, logging details of missions, combat damage, and pilots downed, missing, or killed in action. She knew what was what and didn't need a network to tell her and certainly didn't want to watch it on tv, after working with it all day. Mom was one of the first to know about Dieter Dengler being captured, and once told me that as soon as she saw his name, she knew Dieter would be back. His exploits in SERE school had provided him with a sort of reputation in Navy circles which preceded his subsequent actions during the war.

After the war, Mom worked on computer generated carrier group simulations, programming in Basic, Cobalt, and Fortran languages. She was a work associate of Tom Clancy's before he started writing books.

We moved out to the country and the commute became too long. Mom secured a position with the U.S. Postal service, and served for many years until her retirement.

I never met anyone who didn't like her. She was a voracious reader and loved children, nature, and all manner of furry critters.

For those willing, please join me in a toast and/or blessing for my mother Kay. May she arrive in Heaven a full hour before the devil knows she's gone.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: thunderson, April 03, 2017 06:04 AM

I so toast a life well lived, and a thoughtful son.

my condolences

your mom sounds like she was a great lady and led a full life

Very sorry for your loss. My condolences to you and your family.

I am so sorry for your loss. Suffering from most of her maladies is more painful than one could bear. Prayer sent to family and many friends.

Sorry to hear it.

Your mother sounds like a remarkable woman. So sorry for your loss.

My condolences

James in Denver

I will have a toast to your mothers memory.

My condolences as well. She seems to have lived a strong and honorable life. May she rest peacefully.

We here are not "imaginary friends"--more like just "invisible" ones. We care. So sorry that you have lost your mom, but that is the normal progression of life. Remember all those wonderful attributes and happenings and it will ease the pain.

flashguy

I'm sorry to hear this. Here's to your mother.

My CUT is because of people like your mother. Who put dedication to excellence into their work and accepted the knowledge of that effort as its own reward.

Yet, we who benefit may certainly express our gratitude by living and striving to be fashioned after such people, even if we never met them, for we certainly know they did and do, exist.

Being Jewish and Indian (feather, not dot), telling of a person's story is base to our existence and we know who we are, for knowing who they were.

Thank you for telling us about your mother. I appreciate it.

And you honor your mother in the telling.

prayers sent

Condolences to you all.

Prayers for you and family.

My deepest condolences.

0-0

You've conveyed imagery of a wonderful woman & mother. Prayers & condolences on your loss.

Quite a tribute you've posted which speaks volumes about her, your admiration and love.

My sincerest condolences to you, your family, and friends.

Wow, your mom sounds like she was a great lady and a great mother. May your heart always be filled with memories of the good times as she watches over you.