My Aunt

My sweet Great Aunt Taza passed away this morning, she was such an amazing woman and strong! We didn't expect her to make it through the night over a week ago but she kept fighting. Last night she had another blessing and right after her breathing changed and it was rapid yet shallow once she calmed down, the hospice nurse kept saying any minute and she made it another 3 hours. She was always such a strong and independent person.

She never did have children of her own despite being married for a few short years. She adopted all of her nieces and nephews and all the kids in the neighborhood, she loved kids! Growing up she would take each of us kids in our family on our own outing wherever we wanted to go, I got to visit an amazing doll museum and go to lunch with her, every little girls dream right! My brother got to ride the bus downtown and go to Trolley square. In her older years every time we would visit we would hear of these stories over and over, clearly they were some of her favorite memories of us.

She had an amazing life, she traveled, she served as an ambassador for the Church showing dignitaries and even royalty from other countries around our state as they would come to visit. She learned to speak some of several languages because of that job. She was and insurance claim adjuster for years, and perhaps the funniest is she learned to Fly a plane before she drove a car! Her father was old fashioned and didn't believe women should drive cars, so she took flying lessons and one day took her mother up in a plane, when they got home her mother told her father all about it.

Even though she was my "Great" Aunt I knew her better than some of my other Aunts and we will miss her, my kids loved visiting her too. I am glad after a long life and struggle she has finally moved on and is no longer in pain, I am grateful to have known her and to be able to see her again one day. I am grateful she can be with her parents and loved ones again and that she can go on to do a greater work now free of the limitations she had here.

I am looking forward to the funeral services, she planned them all out herself, Jarin was asked years ago by her to play Mendelssohn's Lullaby, it should really be a tribute to her.

We Love you Taza, we will miss you and look forward to meeting again.