Naomi Gilkerson

By the time she reached the age of ninety seven, my Mother had outlived everyone in her immediate generation. She was preceded in death by her parents, all of her siblings and their respective spouses, her husband of sixty three years, and also her son. She was also preceded by her parents in law, as well as her brother in law and sister in law, plus their spouses. Sadly, she also outlived two nephews, a niece in law, a granddaughter, and an infant great grandson. She is survived by her daughter, six grandchildren, sixteen great grandchildren, and one greatgreat grandson, plus numerous nieces, nephews, and their families. Most of this surprising number of descendants and extended kinfolks live in various locations that are not nearby, so her life recently was relatively quiet. I, the daughter, have spent significant amounts of time with her in the past several years, and have stayed in her home with her since shortly before the Covid pandemic extended my visit by many months. The day before Christmas, my Mother did not wake up as usual, to begin her day. She had passed in the night into her eternal home. While of course I miss her a great deal, I am comforted that she was granted her two wishes as to the end of her earthly life. First, she was able to live in her own home, and not have to be someplace that would be strange to her. And second, she often said that if she got her wish, she would go to bed one night, and just not wake up in the morning. And so it was. We had a normal conversation Wednesday night, and the next time I saw her, she was no longer bound to inhabit a ninety seven year old body. Yes, we knew that one day we would lose her, but I’m sure that one is never really ready. And so, we move on, and cherish the memories. Those of you that knew her undoubtedly have some precious memories of my very precious Mother. We will be able to look back and be glad she was in our lives, and one day I look forward to seeing her in Heaven.