my beautiful mother
June 30, 1931-November 28, 2012
Lois Hooker Padgett died peacefully, with her family at her side, at home in the countryside of Virginia, on Wednesday, November 28th, as the sun set and the full moon rose. She was 81.
She was pre-deceased by her beloved brother Jim and leaves behind her children-Jamie (wife Chiara and children Jessie and Sean), Lesley (husband and 'favorite son-in-law' Douglas and children Sam and Caleb), Chris (wife Sandy and children Drew, Tim, Matthew and Jonathan) and Drew.
Born Grace Lois Hooker in Long Beach, CA, she most cherished family, home and friends. She attended the Montverde School in FL, Duke University and served in the US Navy before beginning her years as a loving wife, mother and grandmother.
Tho' early years found her traveling the world as the daughter of a Navy doctor, and the middle years making homes around the country as the wife of a Navy officer, she realized her dream of building a beach house at Sandbridge in 2000 and spent many happy years there until joining Les and Doug at their home in King and Queen county in 2009.
She had a gift for delighting in Life and was able to continue to do so through much of her journey with Alzheimer's. She greatly blessed all who knew her.
An Open House will take place on December 30th; email for details. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Unicef, Audrey Hepburn and Lois' favorite charity.
...this is the short obituary my brother and I wrote today. It should appear in the Virginian-Pilot tomorrow or the next day. And on Sunday, we will gather with Mom's local friends to joyfully remember her-together.
My three brothers and their families are arriving in a few days...we will have much to sort out and prepare for. One of the details we will probably discuss is the manifesting of the one thing Mom always asked for at her death-that the whole family scatter her ashes in her beloved Hawaii. She wanted us to "get a trip out of it". And I hope we shall. It got me through those first hard days...picturing us all there together, finally, making one of her wishes come true...
5 comments:
A lovely, lovely tribute to your mom, Lesley dear. I have said it before, but I feel so very fortunate to have met Lo. Sitting next to her on your sofa, looking through her photo albums with her, seeing the pictures through her eyes..... Those were such sweet moments. I will treasure them always. Aloho 'Oe, dear Lois!
Dear Lesley, I get behind on blogs so easily now, and I saw a few days ago here that things had clearly changed. But I waited until I could read the entire sequence, and look at all of those lovely images, to learn what happened. I'm sorry for your loss, and how the sudden nature of it took you by surprise. I recall once asking a coworker, whose mother, with Alzheimer's, had lived with her for years before passing away, "Aren't you kind of relieved?" I regret that so much now, understanding that even though caregiving can be stressful and feel like a burden, it also bonds a child and parent in multiple, and very strong, ways. I love it that in respite, your mom's quotes included how glad she was to have a daughter. What a wonderful find. I so enjoy looking at all the pictures of your mom, and her handwriting. Makes me think it might be a good time to start looking through my mom's papers. I hope your weekend celebration of her life goes well, and that you do get to plan that trip to Hawaii...
Emily/momsbrain
Such a beautiful tribute. I hope your mother's wish comes true.
gorgeous.
I bet she'd be awed by your words.
Take care ~
Leslie,
I hope this dreams come true if your Mother was here she would love this post as did I
Grace
Post a Comment