We attended her funeral a few days ago. She was 69 years old. She died of cancer.
Aunt Eileen married my Uncle Rudy Friesen in 1976. They were married for 35 years. She was his fourth wife, and according to his siblings, she made a man of him. She was a welcome addition to the family. She had five children from a previous marriage and her youngest son, Kevin, was adopted by my Uncle Rudy; as a result I actually have two cousins named Kevin Friesen.
Her funeral was lovely. A real christian funeral for a woman who never really professed Christianity. The picture that was displayed beside her urn was very fitting. It showed the twinkle in her eye and the slight tilt of her head that were so characteristic of her. The obituary written and read by her sister was a tribute of who she was and what she valued. It reminded me of her love for animals and care for others. It reminded me of her appreciation for beauty and her collections of trinkets and things. It was also a reminder of her crazy passions for berry picking, garage sales and Willard's water. Her favourite colour was yellow; she had red hair and I remember a bad combination of a yellow velor outfit she wore in the 80's which contrasted badly with her red hair. Those were just some thoughts as I sat in the hard pew at her memorial service. The message at the service was amazing. The pastor presented a clear message of the way of salvation and talked of how this was a strong belief that Aunt Eileen held. It was beautiful and a little shocking. I would never have known she held those beliefs.
I'm glad her children were there to hear the message, especially Kevin. My husband had never met my cousin before and was a little shocked to see me hug a total stranger who smelled of smoke, alcohol and something else. I know he is a mess and has issues, but he needs some love and acceptance somewhere, especially on a day when he is clearly hurting. The Kevin at the funeral is NOT the Kevin I knew as a kid. There's not much I can do, but pray.
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