REST IN PEACE MOM

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support through my pain. It means so much to me.

I lost my Mother on February 25th, 2008. She was hospitalized for congestion in her lungs, chills and fever but after 3 days her organs failed. First her lungs, then her heart and last her kidneys. She suffered with diabetes for many years and had diabetic eyes for the past 10 years which left her legally blind.She also had fibrosis of the lungs since her childhood.

Three days before she passed she was able to talk to her grandson, my son D'Angelo on the phone and in her weak voice told him she loved him and to take care of himself. D'Angelo was very supportive to me even though his heart was breaking. We talked everyday and I know he felt he needed to be there with his two brothers, David and Tony to support me and how very hard it was for him to be so far away but he wanted to remember his Grandma the way she was the last time he saw her.

Even though he and his family were not there in person, they were certainly there in my heart. I want to thank all three of my son's and their families for all the support they gave me through this very difficult time. They were all very close to their Grandmother.

I don't know how to thank my niece Mandy for all she did for me. I don't know what I would have done if she had not been there when I arrived at the airport. I was so shaken and I could not think straight or finish a sentence or even write. It was very hard to make decisions about the funeral not to mention going into the men's restroom at the funeral home and trying to pay for dinner with my drivers license. I could not stop shaking and I was a mess. My dear husband came out the day before the funeral and was my rock from then on.

She struggled for every breath in the last 3 days of her life. It was so hard for all of us to see her that way. On the morning she passed away all of her family was there at her bedside. As my two brothers and I held her hand I put my cheek to hers and whispered in her ear that we were all there and that we all loved her and that she was the best Mom ever and that she needed to take God's hand and let him take her home. I told her I loved her very much and not to worry and that it was OK to go with God. At that moment her eyes opened and a tear drop fell to her cheek and I could feel her body relax and she was gone.

I will miss my Mom so very much but I feel so blessed to have had her for 82 years with a sound mind to the end . She was so alert and full of stories of her life. She was not crippled from a stroke or lost to Alzheimer's, she was sound.

Not to long ago my brother gave her a tape recorder and ask her to just talk about her life whenever she got bored. She did and that will be such a treat to listen to because she had so many stories to tell. She had a hard life but a good life full of love and caring for everyone.

The church was filled with family and friends and my son David and my niece Cassidy put together a video of her life with pictures of different phases of her life and favorite songs to go with the phases.

Her Great Grandchildren sang "Jesus Loves Me" and as hard as it was I gave a short Eulogy which is added below.


We had the "Dove Release" at the grave side. I am so happy we decided to do that. It was a beautiful way to say good bye. There was the single dove representing my Mothers spirit which was passed around for all to touch before it was given back to me to release. Then there were 4 baskets with 10 doves in each released by her grandchildren and great grandchildren representing the angles flying with her to heaven. It was just wonderful. I had held it together until I had to release her spirit but I know she is in heaven now with a healthy body and she can see again and I am at peace now. She sits beside Our Lord now and what a wonderful place to be.


REST IN PEACE MAMMA, I LOVE YOU

Eulogy by Patti Koosed

Thank you all for coming today.

Mom would be surprised to see just how many of you are here because she never thought anyone liked her. No matter what she didn't take compliments very well but before she passed away I ask her if she knew just how much she was loved and she said yes.

She was such a caring person all of her life. She cared for everyone and some she cared for too much but always iwth good intentions.

When she was young she cared for the Owen Family, Woody and Jean and their children, Karen, John, Pete and Marilee working her way through high school. Later in life as a Nursing Assistant, she cared for her patients at Mercy and Samaritan Hospitals and the nursing homes. She cared for her Mother and for her husband Ervin in the last years of their lives. She loved all of her family and was proud of each and every one of them.

She also thought so much of her dear friends, Candy, Karen, June and Hilma. You all were such support to her in her later years.

It is so hard to let go of my Mom but we are so lucky to have had her for 82 years with a sound mind.

The wonderful stories she told us all will keep her with us forever.

Rest In Peace, Mamma, We Love You