Welcome to all. I am Marsha Lynne Harbert Garofolo, the youngest of Mom’s five children. Mom always introduced me as her ‘baby’, long after I was fully grown, which used to annoy me, but is now a fond memory. I’d like to speak for a few minutes about our Mother, whose life we are celebrating today. I know my siblings and I each had a unique relationship with Mom, but I will try to represent the love and admiration that we all shared for her.

Clara Esther Robinson was born at her grandparent’s home, on Caldwell Run, on April 26th, 1926. She was a bit early, and tiny…only 2 and 1/2 pounds. Our Great Grandmother, Martha McCullough, made a little bed for her in a man’s boot box, kept her near the cooking stove for warmth, and fed her from a medicine dropper until she learned to nurse. Against the odds, she thrived.

She died almost 89 years later, early this past Tuesday morning, January 20^th, 2015. Between those two events, she lived a rich and active life. I think anyone who knew her would agree that she did her part to make this world a better place.

Mom would be pleased and honored that you are here with us, as her family, friends and faith were the things that mattered most to her. 

Mom was the eldest of five children. Perhaps that’s how she learned to be such a wonderful mother to us, from helping with her siblings. She met our Dad when they were in high school. He was the new kid in town, and it sounds like she pretty much decided he was the man for her soon after their meeting. World War II intervened, though, in their courtship. Dad wrote to Mom throughout the war; she kept every letter. They’re in a box still, a testament to the love the two of them shared. They married on October 5, 1945, five days after he returned from war, in a candlelit ceremony in his mother’s parlor, and began a marriage that lasted more than 68 years and took them around the world.

It may surprise some of you to hear me say this, but when I think about the word that best describes our Mother, the word that comes to mind is ‘fierce’. She had such strength of will. Her life wasn’t easy, even though there was great love in it. There were several brushes with death along the way, there was chronic pain from rheumatoid arthritis and migraines; there were valiant battles fought. When Mom had back surgery nearly fifteen years ago, she went into cardiac arrest. The medical team had to turn her over to get her heart started again, and in the process, the nerves in her legs were damaged. Her surgeon said it was unlikely she would ever walk again, but he didn’t know Mom. Against the odds, Mom walked into his office eighteen months later. The sight of her walking brought him to tears. She was determined to get her life back, and she did.

She was fierce in her love for her children. She told us that her frequent prayer as we were growing up was that she be allowed to live long enough to raise us. She taught us to be strong and independent, but if she felt that someone was mistreating one of us, Mom didn’t hesitate to step in to protect us, especially Paul 😉. She was well known in our schools and in our church. Mom, ‘on a mission’, was a force to be reckoned with.

Our Mother was a woman of many talents. She was one of the most creative people I’ve ever known. She learned to sew as a teenager and made almost all of our clothing as we grew up, including swimsuits and beautiful gowns as we girls needed them for school dances. She was an excellent cook and baker. Her “pull candy” was phenomenal – we’d all like to be able to replicate that recipe!  She also painted, made ceramics, taught cake decorating, knitted, crocheted, and embroidered. She made a beautiful quilt for each grandchild’s birth; her home was filled with her handiwork. Mom LOVED flowers. She grew them, she painted them, she embroidered them, she made them from cake icing…you get the idea.

She learned from her parents to love the Lord, and she did that fiercely, too. Her Bible is well worn, with many notes in the margins. She taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible school classes. She so enjoyed her Ladies Circles at church, and even became a speaker, sharing experiences from her travels with Dad, doing the Lord’s work. She and Dad were youth leaders in their churches, both in Chelyan and in Bridgeport, West Virginia, influencing many lives.

Mom was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother and friend. She was tender-hearted, kind and caring, and loved to laugh. She was fun, strong, and adventurous. Nobody’s fool, she lived her life fully…fiercely, and well. We were incredibly fortunate to have had her for our Mother. We honor and celebrate her life each day, in the manner in which we live our lives.

I know Mom tried to fight her battle against Alzheimer’s; tried not to slip away, but Alzheimer’s wasn’t a challenge she could overcome through force of will. In a fair world, she would have been spared that pain. She didn’t deserve it…no one does. Our family has been grieving for her for years, since we realized she was ill. Now, mixed in with the sadness, there is relief in knowing she’s gone home…whole again, made perfect, and free. I picture her joy at seeing our Dad, Paul…the love of her life, and her parents and sister Martha, and I can’t help but be happy for her.

It comforts me to remember that we are souls with bodies, not bodies with souls; death is simply the passage home. An excerpt from The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran, says “..what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unemcumbered”.

We love you, Mom.