Marion/Nana

Our Thoughts of Nana
March 17, 1980


Mimi – Poems by Sara Teasdale
There Will Be Stars
There will be stars over the place forever;
Should the house we loved and the street we loved be lost,
Every time the earth circles her orbit,
On the night the autumn equinox is crossed,
Two stars we knew ,poised on the peak of midnight
Will reach their zenith ; stillness will be deep;
There will be stars over the place forever,
There will be stars forever, while we sleep.


On a March Day
Bear witness for me that I loved my life,
All things that hurt me and all things that healed,
And I swore to it this day in March,
Here at the edge of this new-broken field.

You only knew me, tell them I was glas
For every hour since my hour of birth,
And that I ceased to fear ,as once I feared,
The last complete reunion with the earth.

Cyndy - At Eighty Three
by Thomas Durley Landels

Thank God for life with all its endless store
Of great experience , of hill and dale,
Of cloud and sunshine, tempest ,snow and hail.
Thank God for home and parents,children and friends,
For sweet companionship that never ends.
Thanks God for sea and sky,for changing hours,
For trees and singing birds and fragrant flowers.
And so in looking back at eighty-three,
My final word to you my friends shall be:
Thank God for life, and when the gift’s withdrawn,
Thank god for love ,and coming dawn.

Nancy- From Thoughts and Meditations
By Kahlil Gibran

…from a sensitive woman’s heart springs the happiness of mankind,
and from the kindness of her noble spirit comes mankind’s affection.

From Mike-

I will try this morning to speak for all of us, for all that is in our feelings and thoughts. We are here to comfort one another, to express and share our sorrow and loss. So much more though we are together to commemorate and celebrate the life of Marion-our mother, grandmother, great-grand mother and friend. To celebrate indeed this unique and magnificent woman who has brought us all so much joy, so much love, so much life.

So much joy! She was a person who truly rejoiced in life whether we called her Mother,or Lovey, or Nana, Nina, Turk or Marion. Her radiant smile and twinkling eyes always greeted us ; her heartfelt infectious laughter accompanying each story or account with which she would regale us. Whenever we would come away from being with her we would feel happier because she was a genuinely happy individual. Humor was Marion’s strongest medicine which helped her and us through the hardest times. She loved to joke, to party, to eat, to drink and be merry and let us toast her now- what a marvelous unfailing wit she had! She could even joke about her own death when deciding to select her finale dress so as not to be “the first lady ever buried in a pant suit”. Happiness radiated from her everyday charming mannerisms – whistling while she worked in her cozy kitchen (sometimes with a touch of worry if one of us was overdue),always a wave from her window seat as we came or went , on special occasion playing “Love Letter in the Sand” on the downstairs piano, endless stories of all kinds drawn from the years,from her one and only day of outside employment in a bakery (she gave too much away) to riding in Joe Richards’ motorcycle side-car, to quitting smoking after 50 years –no more “cigarette me baby”. She generated all her own, now ours, treasury of comical sayings: “service a la”, “F-O-X-Y”, and we can almost hear her say herself that her heart was just to “T-I-R-E-D”. to keep on.

Speaking of heart,Marion was a totally loving person, loving each of us for ourselves, always opening her heart to us whenever trouble or trials ro changes we would be experiencing. She loved each of us without reservation, each of us as a very special person in her life. Her “little ones” especailly she loved and delighted in – they were really her grand children and great –grand children ! How happy she was and and how wonderful it is that her name will be carried on by Christopher Richards Balsamo. Ove , like joy is shown in deeds and each of us cherishes the kindness which she lavished upon us. She was so loved by each of us and how well she knew it- we filled her life too! She depended upon us and we never disappointed her. She called herself the “hot house flower” and we tended to her with devotion , making her home always more comfortable, lovingly patching ,fixing, remodeling ,cleaning, beautifying,getting her provisions, helping her take care of her personal business and medical needs. Ouronly regret is not having one more moment with her , but what a treasure to have had so much precious time. She completed her life as she had lived it , in her home with her family livng close around her as they did everyday.
And what a life! In Marion we have a shining example of life lived to the full. Her death at 83,ending her physical pain is not tragic, but her life was certainly a triumph. She has inspired all of us in so many ways. The word which best described her mind was “brilliant” – always inquisitive, intelligent, in the finest sense, alwaysgiven to new thoughts and ideas. A funny old plaque on her porch jokes about aging in her paraphrased German;” We get too too soon oldt and too late schmart”. She was ever youthful and so very smart. What a philosophy in her last years:” I never feel like I’m missing out” she’d say,” I’ve done everything.” Her memory was truly remarkable,unfaltering flashing back over decades for names, dates and details. Marion had a real compassion and concern for others which manifestied itself by a long term participation in politics- the Democrats of course,the people’party . She called her little 2nd floor bungalow her “Ivory Tower” and from this special place ,even when failing health restricted her she reached out to the world ,reading 2 daily newspapers, following current events on television and keeping in touch with everyone by letter and telephone. Marion was a model of courage and strength bearing her final ills as she had the heartaches of her life. She always kept her faith in her God and her hope in life.
Now her last hopes have been realized, to join her beloved son Bobby, and her beloved husband Joe. Now they are together again. We really can’t think of Marion without thinking of Joe. As each was a magnificent individual, they were together a magnificent pair. They have taught us all by example the meaning of the phrase “joie de vivre”, the enjoyment and the joy of life. Joy is received whenever it is given – a gift , a meal , a good time. That was their message- be good to each other, love one another as friends, as family.
They would say,”She no tears over us; we have lived so well,so long”. So let there be no dreary dress or mournful music on this her special St Patrick’s Day. It is a day most of all to celebrate.
So here’s to love, here’s to life, here’s to Joe, here’s to Marion!