My mother died in April of 2003. Below I captured a summary of her last hours and my thoughts. It is very short. I wrote it a few days after her death. She lived until the age of eighty-one. Much of that life was in or on the edge of poverty. Her last twenty-five years were lived as a widow. We helped her with money and housing and furniture …. and we spent time with her. Most Sundays, holidays, and birthdays were family gatherings at her home.

Her health was good until cancer took her.