‘Very close bond’
Charlottetown woman, 92, sets out for special visit with cherished sister
The sibling bond has long been tight, but only one of these two sisters still has a firm grasp on the special relationship.
Della Kielly, 92, of Charlottetown reflects fondly on many cherished moments spent with her 90-year-old sister, Jean Soper.
Kielly was right in the middle of the pack of eight children consisting of five boys and three girls.
The whole clan was tight-knit, but Kielly was closest to her younger sister.
As children, the pair would push one another in a tire, sending a sibling rolling wildly downhill. There were, quite naturally, plenty of crashes.
“We done crazy things, I guess,’’ says Kielly.
“Sort of tomboys.’’
The family was far from wellto-do but more than capable of enjoying and embracing life.
There would be pick-up baseball and a variety of board games like checkers to keep Kielly, Soper and the other six children amused.
“Back then, you had to make your own fun,’’ notes Kielly.
At age 18, Soper moved to Boston with her aunt. She worked in a factory, got married to Albert Soper and had five children. Kielly stayed on P.E.I., worked in an office before marrying Lorne Kielly, and had three children of her own.
A dozen or so years flew past before the two siblings saw each other again. That was when Kielly travelled to Boston with her husband to visit Soper, to meet Soper’s husband and to see Soper’s first child.
Soper and her family would proceed to regularly visit P.E.I. and drop in on Kielly in her small house in Covehead.
For decades, the sisters would see each other every year or two.
When the children left the nest, Soper and her husband bought a cottage in Stanhope right next to Kielly’s cottage.
“There was just a lane between,’’ notes Kielly.
The sisters would enjoy one another’s company all summer long. Summer after summer.
“Jean and I had a good relationship. We always had a good time together,’’ says Kielly.
“Very close bond.’’ About five years ago, Soper was starting to show early signs of dementia. That marked her last visit to P.E.I.
Kielly has not seen her sister since.
She knows her sister has Alzheimer’s disease and that the condition has progressed considerably since the pair of siblings was last together.
Today, Kielly will set out to Rhode Island to visit Soper in a nursing home.
The encounter will predictably spur in Kielly many emotions, from love to sadness.
“I don’t really know what to expect, honest to goodness,’’ says Kielly.
“I feel I already said goodbye to her the last time I saw her because she was beginning to not know people then.’’
Kielly does not expect her sister to recognize her. She hopes, however, to see a glimpse or two of a familiar characteristic in her beloved sibling.
“I have no idea how it is going to feel like,’’ she adds.
Regardless how the encounter plays out, Kielly, at 92, is determined to make, as a motor vehicle passenger, the 11-hour drive to Rhode Island for what will likely be the last time she sees her sister alive.
“I just feel I’d like to see her,’’ says Kielly.