Aunt Mary, Goodbye

A couple weeks ago my Aunt Mary passed away. She had been sick on and off for a while. And for the most part, she had a peaceful passing. Mary was my dad's older sister. She reminds me so much of my Grandma Suman (her mom) with her calm demeanor and sweet little chuckling laugh. Honestly, they are two of the sweetest women I know. I only wish I had known her better. I borrowed these from Laura's blog and think they are the most adorable pictures of my Uncle Bob and his younger sister, my Aunt Mary:
And here she is with my dad (her younger brother). Pictures are from Eric and Laura's wedding.
The funeral was on Monday in Escondido where she and her husband Dave raised their family. Dave is buried in this same cemetery. I have many fond memories from childhood of going to their house (which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere) to hang out, play in their forest-like backyard, eat yummy food, and play pool. Their 4 children (my cousins) were older than me and my siblings so it's only been in the last 10 years that we've really gotten to know them better. It's hard when you live far away to create better relationships but with blogs and unfortunate circumstances like this, you get a chance to talk and catch up (lame that I had lost my voice that day. I had to talk in a whisper). Here are some pictures of the day:
Mary's entire posterity:
Her four children, my cousins (left to right) Dan, Mike, Nancy, and Marcia:
Marcia's family. Mary's first great-child was due the day after her funeral.
Mary's two siblings: Uncle Bob and my dad Bill. Think they're brothers?
Both brothers gave talks. I love my dad's stories. He's given many eulogies and always knows the perfect laughs and sentiment to share.
It's so cute to watch Bob and my Dad together. They laugh the same, they look the same, they even move the same. At one point during the day Lucy walked up to Bob and said, "Papa? Papa? What are you doing?" He looked down at her and she realized, hmmm...something's not quite right here.

More photos of the day:There was a family lunch after the services back at the church. Lucy, Ava, and Jeremy had a ball organizing all the plastic wear and playing on the big cultural hall floor.
Owen joined in the fun too.
We love you Aunt Mary. We're glad we could be part of your life. We love your smile. And we'll see you again.