Honoring Rose Jean--
In the United Methodist Church local congregations to which I have belonged, it has been traditional to honor those people in our lives whose deaths we have mourned over the past year. This takes place during services on "All Saints Day", usually on the Sunday closest to October 31/November 1.
And so today, I honor Rose Jean, and will tell her story for my grandchildren. She was Daddy's older sister, and we called her "Tissie", because he did.
Tissie and Daddy and Novis (their older brother) grew up on a dusty cattle ranch in Garza County, Texas, during the 1920's and '30's. The Depression hit West Texas hard, and the family moved to town to try to make a living as inn-keepers at the Rodgers Hotel in Post, Texas. Times were tough, and became tougher when Grandad Rodgers died suddenly; the family had to leave the hotel, and Mama had to take a job to support them. Tissie left home first, to attend Texas Tech; Daddy soon followed.
After college, Tissie worked in Washington, D.C., for Lubbock congressman George Mahon. She met my uncle Grif there, they married, and then World War II interrupted their lives, as it did so many others. After the War, they moved back to Lubbock, where Tissie worked for 38 years in Mr. Mahon's Lubbock office. She met 5 presidents, and was a delegate to the 1960 Democratic Convention.
Grif died in 1985. For several years, Tissie was a world traveller, and went on at least 30 cruises, sometimes accompanied by her daughters, Jeanie and Jane.
In her later years, she moved out of the family home and into an independent living community. She died on January 11, 2010, at the age of 90--almost exactly 10 years to the day after she told me that she was really surprised to live to see a new century.
Those are some of the "facts" of her life, but here's what is important about Tissie--
- She loved her family, including me, and was so fiercely loyal that she believed we could do no wrong. She thought we were all so smart, and cute, and accomplished.
- She could be headstrong and pretty opinionated, and Steve says, "She was a woman not to be crossed." He instantly loved and respected her, as much as I did.
- Jeanie and Jane were the most important people in her life--she was so proud of all they were and did. They were always the first thing we would talk about when I called her.
- Daddy was her "little" brother, and I believe she thought he walked on water.
- She had a wonderful sense of humor, and the ability to laugh at herself.
- Talking politics with her was so much fun--she had her own opinions but she never cared whether we agreed or not. And she always carefully considered whatever I said.
- She was also pretty opinionated about Texas Tech football, and loved to talk about it.
- She was always careful never to say anything negative that might hurt someone (but sometimes she rolled her eyes...).
- She was a great story-teller, and did she have a lot of stories!
- She has been one of the most important influences in my life--one of those larger-than-life figures--she was my favorite aunt, my mentor, my "other mother", my teacher, my friend.
Laura Huff Hileman explains it this way: "Saints are just people who are trying to listen to God's word and live God's call. This is 'the communion of saints' that we speak of in the Apostle's Creed -- that fellowship of believers that reaches beyond time and place, even beyond death. Remembering the saints who have helped extend and enliven God's kingdom is what All Saints Day is about. " http://www.upperroom.org/askjulian/default.asp?act=answer&itemid=276387
And by the way, Tissie is Rosie's namesake--
