Friday, October 20, 2006

Aunt B

My Aunt Becky passed away yesterday at the age of 84. She will always be one of my heroes. Becky Tilotta Holbrook. A female legend within the CoC (Churches of Christ). She traveled to 73 countries as a missionary, worked tirelessly to produce Bible literature for African children, wrote this book, and was a fierce supporter of George W. Bush or any other Republican, for that matter. (if you knew her you'd never hold that against her...I certainly didn't!) Aunt B was QUITE a character.

I have a priceless story about Aunt B that I can't tell in it's entirety. But I'll attempt to give the "gist" of it here. If I ever meet you in person, and you know me very long, it IS one of the stories you'll hear me tell. It was the week before Tdub and I were to marry. Mind you, Tdub and I were each marrying for a 2nd time and each had children big enough to sit on a potty and reach the microwave. (not at the same time....but these are each major milestones for children in my opinion!)

Tdub and I were cleaning at the old house we were going to live in when a then 77 yr. old Aunt B pulled up in her brown Dodge Caravan. She was still driving at the time but had begun to be a bit "tottery" when getting around. I went out to meet her at her van. She had a leftover dish of some sort to give us (this woman would wash and reuse zip bags and aluminum foil). Nothing went to waste in her house. It was either used in her daily routine, given away, or became part of a craft, lesson, or other Bible story curriculum to be administered either here or shipped to Africa. She took her last mission trip to Africa at the ripe old age of 78.

After giving me the dish, she extended her arms and grasp me by the shoulders. She had something serious on her mind. This is the part I can't speak of plainly. But let me just say, that Dr. Ruth (remember her??? the sex therapist) had NOTHING on my Aunt B. She practically pleaded with me to come and spend some time with her during the next week before our wedding so that she could teach me some of the secrets of a happy sex life. I will quote one tiny piece of her little talk just because it's SO rich. She very earnestly said to me, "Honey, I'm 77 yrs. old and I still miss it." She also mentioned something about heaven on earth.

I thought I was going to explode before our conversation finally ended and I was able to dash back into the house, stomp my feet up and down on the floor, and squeal in disbelief at what I'd just heard from my dear old Aunt B. It was one of those times when you just wish you had a giant eraser for your brain or a rewind and erase feature for the memory lobe. Quite to the contrary, however, this remains and always will remain, one of the most vivid memories of my lifetime. And you know, I'm really happy about that now.

Aunt B was amazing. And I know beyond a doubt that she is now experiencing heaven in heaven, not on earth, and I rest assured that she no longer misses one thing about any of the things she longed for here.

I love you Aunt B.

pam


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6 comments:

Jay said...

I'm sorry for your loss, Pam. Your Aunt B sounded like an amazing person, and it seems she lived a life worth celebrating. I hope comfort is with you and your family in this time.

In Him,
Jay

Anonymous said...

Bless her heart... she sounds like quite a jewel - one who is just so genuine that she can get away with things others cannot. Didn't know you had that CoC heritage... Didn't Assembly of God come into play somewhere too? Anyway... that's all on the sidelines.

Sorry for your loss... For all your losses. Nice that Aunt B's death also serves as a reminder of coming attractions.

LOVED her sex talk! I wanna hear the rest of that one! :-) A single girl's gotta get her kicks somewhere!

Much love to you, Pam!

grace said...

Hey Angie! I should have written "our" Aunt B...but I'm steering away from the "our". Aunt B is technically tdub's great aunt. I spent quite a bit of time with her, working in her yard when she lived here in town and just sitting and visiting with her. I can't imagine her any other way than as my Aunt B. Her passing is so emotional for me...probably compounded by the fact that my emotions are pretty close to the surface all the time lately.

I don't have any official CoC heritage of my own.

pam

Little E said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Greg said...

hi pam! just wanted to say "hi." i was sorry to hear about aunt b. i hope each day brings a deeper peace in your life.

grace said...

Hi Greg! Thanks so much....It really great to hear from you!
pam