Family Always came first..

One of the really big things I always loved about my sister Wilma was her never ending love for family. Her heart was as big as the state of Texas. She was generous with her home and her money and her love.

At one time or another every sibling along with Mom and Pete (mom's husband) lived and were supported by Wilma and her husband Jack. She opened her small two bedroom home to us all and we slept on the pull out couch and all over the floor. Her kitchen was always full of wonderful food smells as she fed us all. She delighted in drop-in company and would have a meal whipped up in minutes. Meals around Willies kitchen table were always a highlight of the evening and on Sunday for mid day dinner. My brothers and sisters will eagerly tell the stories of her love and generosity.

Coming from real poverty after our fathers death Wilma longed and worked toward a better life for her family. As things got better in her life and she moved into a bigger home and upgraded her surroundings she never once turned her back on the less fortunate family members. Worldly things were very unimportant to her. It was people that were at the top of her priority list. Her home was always full of friends and family and laughter. Great stories, music and good food became the norm.

We recently had our every two year family reunion and she was constantly in my thoughts as we all came together for food, fun and lots of funny stories. Although none of her children or grandchildren attended the reunion I know SHE was there in spirit. Had she still been on this earth she would have most certainly been there in person giving us all her big hugs and warm words of love and support. Willie like myself loved her brothers with a passion and they reciprocated that love. Her name is constantly spoken when they are around.

As the years pass we continue to lose our siblings. It is now more than ever that I am thankful for my big family. It is a little easier to grieve when you have brothers and sisters to grieve with. Yes kids and grandkids are special and really important but there is just something special about a brother or sister. They have after all been with you from birth and have shared such an enormously important part of your life. I feel sorry for those who have never shared the love and friendship of a special sister like mine. Love you Willie!

Thanksgiving is not all about the cornbread dressing..

As Thanksgiving approaches Willie takes a prominent place in my thoughts. Memories of times spent together and the wonderful smells of the food she loved to prepare for her beloved family.

One Thanksgiving she decided we should go out for dinner instead of cooking. It turned out to be less trouble but of course we missed the family being together for a longer time all gathered at someones home with the lingering smells and sound of laughter and children playing.

Wilma always knew the reason for Thanksgiving and she was a wonderful example for our family teaching us all the true value of the family unit. Material things really meant nothing to her. Family and friends were the important things in her life. I have seen her spend her entire pay check on her grandchildren. At least somewhere around that amount. She never balanced her check book, she just always made sure she wrote checks for a few dollars less than each deposit. I used to wonder if she ever knew what her true balance was. Of course she couldn't have cared less. She just always knew she had enough.

Each year as Thanksgiving approaches we are all so eager to taste that wonderful cornbread dressing and those homemade dinner rolls she always made. We were smart enough to save her recipes in a family cook book that we put together years before her passing. Dee Dee has managed to pretty much master the dressing recipe but somehow I just have never found yeast rolls that match up to hers. I treasure that recipe book and use it constantly. New recipes find their way into my kitchen but some things will never change and Thanksgiving will always be a reminder of the wonderful meals and family togetherness we all shared. It also is a time that brings the realization of how blessed we all were to have Willie in our lives. For me it was 53 years which was not nearly long enough. For her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews it was short but unforgettable.

Love you Willie!!!!

It seems everything is a reminder of my wonderful sister. This weekend at the lake house I felt her spirit everywhere. She did so love the lake with its great memories of family laughing and fighting over games being played. We loved to be where she was even it if meant sleeping on the floor. She had such a warm wonderful heart. She dearly loved all of us and the more the better.

This past weekend I was thinking about her as I enjoyed the lake that she also loved dearly. Anyway I started thinking about the things I loved best about her. First on the list would have to be that she was a good listener. Never judged or gave advice, just listened and gave her love freely, knowing you would more than likely work out whatever was bothering you.

Next would be the depth of her love. However there was a line that you could not cross with her. That line was trust. She could and would forget you existed if you crossed that line. It would take an enormous endeavor to regain her trust again. She was generous to a fault. She would spend her last dime on you if you were in need. She was totally the most unselfish person I have ever known.

What can I make you for dinner?

To say Wilma was a good cook is an understatement. She learned the basics from Mom who was a genius in the kitchen. Wilma was helping in the kitchen from the time I was big enough to have a memory. Mom spent most of her life in the kitchen and Wilma spent a lot of her life in the kitchen. Have I overused the word kitchen? Well the kitchen was the most important room in our house growing up and the most important thing in the kitchen was the refrigerator. A Well stocked refrigerator!

Wilma's refrigerator was always full and anything you might need to cook a meal was generally at hand. However you could have fed another complete family from the things we would throw away that just never made it to the table. But my point is that friends and family could show up unannounced and Willie could whip up a full meal in no time without going to the grocery store. And trust me friends and family showed up at her door for a great meal often. Her recipes were always in demand and she was always coming up with new ones.

I think my favorite all-time entree was her "Beef Stroganoff" (She called it California Steak). My goodness I still cannot make it as good as she could even using the same recipe. I think we all pretty much have our favorites and I am so thankful that we put them all in our family recipe book. A book I treasure and use so often. When I cook do I think of Willie, yes indeed I do. After all, she taught me how to cook and how could I ever make all those wonderful things she used to make without thinking about her. I treasure each hand written recipe that she shared with me. You knew it was a keeper if she wrote it down. Her busy day soup is still my favorite to whip up on short notice just like she used to do and I long for her chef salads that she introduced me to at the age of 14. But I guess if I could pick one particular recipe of hers that would tower over them all it would be her corn bread dressing. I hope that when I get to heaven and see my sis again that she will be able to whip up some of that incredible dressing one more time!! Love you sister!!

Always looking Out for Me.

This weekend as I was busy around the house doing this and that I was playing my music as I love to do. I selected some of the older groups from the 80’s and 90’s and when “Three Dog Night’s” Joy to the World began to play my mind automatically went back to the Young Men’s Club days with Willie, Charlie and other family members enjoying food, song and dance together. There are many songs that bring Wilma to mind when I hear them but that one song is especially joyful as I see her and Charlie out on the dance floor like two young kids just having a blast. The first few notes of that song was like an alarm going off and they were generally the first couple on the floor. Wow, how she loved to dance and I was so happy for her that Charlie also loved to dance. They spent many hours of their marriage on the dance floor somewhere just enjoying life.

Music was always a part of Wilma. She started playing the piano by ear when she was a young girl. Dad gave us all some piano lessons as children but Wilma had the knack for it while the rest of us just became a grateful audience. My younger sister Tootie and I would beg her to play for us and we would sing and dance around to her wonderful notes. We of course never let on that we heard the off keys and the missed rhythm and broken melodies. We loved them all. What incredible times we had dancing to Tommy Dorsey’s Boogie Woogie, Singing in the Rain, and so many of the wonderful big band songs that you could actually sing. Of Course chop sticks was one of our daily treats and we would take turns playing duets to that one. Life was good at least sometimes.

We were so poor after dad died that our coats each year were donations from churches and schools and our school lunches were provided free by the school lunch program, but we were happy go lucky in those days, except for Willie that is. Her life was tough. She had to drop out of high school when dad died and take a job to help support the family. She worked as a car hop at a drive inn for quite a while and then she got a pretty good job at an optical company making lens for eye glasses. As busy as she was she always kept an eye out for me and Tootie. She made sure we had food and gave us money for movies and treats when she had it.

In the summer, Wilma played on a girl’s softball team. I loved to go to her games and watch her play. I too played on a softball team and actually got to play on her team a couple of times to fill in the catchers spot when needed. How big I thought I was to play on my big sisters team. How gracious Wilma was to let me play and to watch over me as they were already of age and partaking of cigarettes and beer. She made darn sure I was not around the girls when they were partaking. Always watching out for me. Loved her so.

She Should have been given an honorary degree in crafting..

Sitting at Kalie’s basketball game yesterday passing the time between games, I was chatting with one of the other basketball grandmothers and the subject of crafting came up. She was telling me about crafting with her sister and all the fun they had together. That was a big door opener for me to reminisce about some of the wonderful time spent crafting with Willie. It was not just time with me; it was a special time she spent with Cindy (daughter-in-law) and with Carol (daughter) and many more family members and friends.

When it came to crafting no one could hold a candle to Wilma. She was an accomplished crafter if you will. Sewing, knitting, crocheting, cross stitching, painting, and just about anything you were up for. Her hobby closet was bursting with crafts to work on. We delighted in shopping at hobby lobby for the very latest Christmas tree ornament kits and we would sit for hours sewing up a storm to make all those little felt delights to hang on

our trees the next December. The enjoyment she got when her grandkids would behold the newest additions was all the motivation she needed to make more and more. As I said before, she was an accomplished crafter and she could craft rings around me. I personally think she should have been given the Hobby Lobby honorary degree in crafting.

Her Children divided the ornaments between them after her death and each year they all put up a special Nanny K Christmas tree to display those wonderful hand sewn ornaments during the holiday season as a special reminder of the incredible person that took the time to sew them for the kids she loved so dearly.

One of my most prized possessions is her knitting and crochet needle bag filled with every size needle she might need for that next special project we would be working on.

Every once in a while I get a whim to knit or crochet and I go to her special needle bag and choose the needles I need because I know the right size will be there. This is the time I feel especially close to her and know her spirit is right there with me. Amazingly, we still have that special craft time together.

Love you Willie!

Lisa

Luvin La Vida Loca!

Charlie, Willie, Jamee, Lisa, Scotty and Curtis in back. Taken in front of our bungalow. Ready for the suicide drive into Acapulco for a great evening meal and lots of laughter. Fifty bucks says Charlie will order red snapper.

Life was always special for me with my Sister Wilma in my life. We shared a special relationship. She was my mentor, my sibling and my very best friend. We could spend hours and hours together..and we did. Talking, shopping, planting flowers, playing golf, tennis and of course visiting with her friends. Friends so plentiful that I never really met them all even as often as I visited. She was always just a phone call away.

How I loved to play golf with her and her friends. She always invited me to play the tournaments and of course guest day at her golf club. The truth be known, I knew her friends better than my own. I used to tease Willie that my place in life was to forever be known as Wilma's sister. A moniker I was proud to carry. I will go into the golf stories at a later date.

Our trips to Acapulco started in the late 70's and lasted right up until November of 1986 a few months before her death in April of 1987. We went almost every year and sometimes twice a year. I will tell you now that Wilma was game for just about any adventure you could conjure up. She was a spontaneous fun energetic person with a love for family and friends. We never had to ask her twice if she wanted to take a trip.

Jamee and Curtis adored their Aunt Wilma. She lavished them with love and attention. We always went to town to go shopping and they loved to tag along. Stopping in a restaurant for a cold Corona was a must on our shopping trips.

Hanging out after breakfast on the patio overlooking the ocean. Wilma, Jamee and Charlie.

Breakfast on the patio was the start of every day. Charlie could whip up a great breakfast.

Gracias hermana por las memorias marvillosas.

Lisa