Then there were two

This weekend we attended the funeral of my husband's Aunt Sue. She passed away at 89 and enjoyed a nice long life. Sue was the last girl of five in the family, the closest in age to my husband's dad who was the youngest/last. I assume they stopped when their 6th child was a boy, ha-ha. She was one of several amateur historian aunts in the family. Decades ago she did much of the genealogy work to qualify for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), which is pretty cool for those into family history like my husband. 

I had to break out the Kleenex at the service when they played some Baptist standards that bring back such wonderful memories from my growing up years, including "The Old Rugged Cross" and "Because He Lives". Aunt Sue loved to sing the old hymns. The silver lining to most funerals is that you get to see lots of family members. Honestly, it's rather like a mini-reunion, especially when the local church ladies host a lunch after the services with some homebaked goodies. An unexpected gift was when the husband received a large envelope full of old pictures from that side of the family. It was a wonderful stroll down memory lane when we got home and looked through them. Now he just needs to scan them into his computer and pass them along to his parents.

The history nerd in me enjoyed checking out monuments in the family plot at this historic cemetery where Sam Houston was laid to rest. We spied the husband's grandparents, aunts and uncles who have already gone to heaven. A family of devout believers, I just know they've been having a lovely visit since Sue arrived.

My favorite picture in the envelope was the one of my husband's parents when they were teenagers in the early 1950s. 

Before the service, we went by the old family farm to see how it looks. Years ago, the surviving kids decided to sell the farm to the local university once grandma Annie (our older daughter's namesake) passed away at 96. Now a part of the Gibbs Ranch agriculture teaching and research facility at Sam Houston State, it's just empty pastureland since they tore down the old homestead. 

Deciding not to wait until another of the two remaining siblings (of the six children, my father-in-law was the baby of the family) passes away, the husband and I have decided to host a cousin's reunion at our river house this fall once the temps back off a bit. We're really looking forward to seeing everyone for a longer catch-up in more happy circumstances.