I’m not an avid reader of the local newspaper, but I try to look through the obituaries. As one who has lived in this region most of her life, I know people and recognize names. I think it’s important to keep up with who’s no longer with us.
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| Ina with her daughters & Patty |
I
opened the obituary section some weeks back and immediately recognized a
photo of my cousin Patty. Apparently, she had been in failing health for some
time. I didn’t know. As little girls we were occasional playmates, but we
weren’t close and lost touch in adulthood. I reached out to her from time to
time, but while she was cordial, it was clear she wasn’t interested in visiting.
Well, it just feels like a lost opportunity.
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| Kathy & Patty |
Patty, two years older than I, was my first cousin once removed. Her mother, Shirley Jean, and I were cousins. Her grandmother was Aunt Ethel, my dad’s sister (and perhaps best friend).
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| Roberta and Marilyn Shockley |
For that matter, through online search a couple of months ago, I discovered my cousin Roberta was deceased as of 2017. She had been living in Maryland. While I can’t say we were ever close, her mother, my Aunt Shirley, always remembered me with a gift from her daughters, Roberta and Marilyn, at Christmas when I was small. They came to visit at the farm, too. I always think of them fondly. I was sad that I would not see Roberta again.
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| Ethel, Shirley Jean, & Ina; Patty on floor |
These were people who were part of Ina’s world, a world that I contemplate from time to time, a world that was almost gone by the time I was born. KW
Photos:
#1 -- Ina Dobson and her daughters: Pearl Sanders, Shirley Shockley, Ina, Myrtle, and Ethel. Ina looks to be passing her first great-grandchild, Patty, to Ethel, Patty's grandmother. This was taken on the south side of the front porch of the farmhouse, late September 1947.
#2 -- Kathy and Patty, Christmas at the farmhouse with Ina, 1952. Patty is five; I'm three.
#3 -- Roberta and Marilyn Shockley in the "kitchen yard" at the farm, July 1944.
#4 -- A four-generation photo taken Christmas, 1952 -- grandmother Ethel, mother Shirley Jean, and great-grandmother Ina -- with Patty.
4 comments:
I'm glad to finally have the relationship explained. I kept thinking she was your Dad's sister Shirley's daughter but the names didn't line up. Now I have it. Seems like she took piano lessons, too?
P.S. The picture with you holding the doll over your face is hilarious! Proud of the doll or didn't want to get your picture taken?
I was pretending to be the doll. I named her "Corny" for her yellow hair. Someplace along the line she came apart and was tossed -- didn't survive. I didn't care for her much because I couldn't change her clothes. Not being able to dress them myself was a deal breaker with me and dolls.
You must have read the obituary, too. Yes, she did take lessons from Daddy and was a good pianist. She was a multi-talented person, and I admired her.
I occasionally have to explain the difference between Shirley and Shirley Jean to Mike. Aunt Shirley was my dad's younger sister, while Shirley Jean was Aunt Ethel's only child. She was named for Aunt Ethel's sister Shirley and Uncle Ernest's sister Jean.
I have it now. Since I've done so much Ancestry work, the levels of cousin-dom are now clear to me and it sure helps. And I'm with you--if I couldn't change a doll's clothes, what was her purpose?
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