The funeral chapel was full yesterday as young and old paid their respects to Aleda Mae. Though she was housebound for the last 15 years of her life, she never lost touch with all of us.
Aleda Mae was probably best know for her crocheted kitchen towels. When Gene asked for a show of hands of how many mourners had received towels from Aleda Mae, every hand in the chapel went up. Her towels went out, with her prayers and love, all over North America, and into Africa, China, and Eastern Europe. The family stopped counting how many she made when she reached 3000.
I know for a fact that several dozen grace the prized kitchen collections of many Togolese women.
I loved Aleda Mae. She had a touch of mischief in her to let us all know she was human, otherwise we would have knighted her "angel" years ago. Birthday and anniversary cards, crocheted baby blankets, home-cooked meals around her table, and-- of course-- piles of kitchen towels, poured from her generous hands to me.
I hope to learn from her how not to die until I'm dead or, in other words, how to live and keep on living until I live forever.
I'll miss you Aleda Mae. Could you make some kitchen towels for me to go in my mansion over the hilltop? I think I'd like them in azure blue.
2 comments:
Hi Patty,
Your mom sent me this link.
Thank you so much for the beautiful tribute to my grandmother. Her lasting legacy is such a comfort to me & it is so nice to see that she was a blessing to all who knew her. It reaffirms that you didnt have to be related to her to know her unconditional love & hospitality as she gave it freely to everyone she ever met. Your parents have sure been a blessing to me. I can see you also have held onto those important qualities, the ones that made my grandmother who she was, & your parents who they are. True christians who not only talk the talk but actually live the walk. It seems to be found less & less in todays modern world & it is such a blessing to see that some in our generation can hold tight to them. Again I thank you for your wonderful blog. Gods peace & blessings to you.
Your sister in Christ
Kat Mayfield
PS....Im guessing by the time we get "home", she will have made so many towels over there, Peter will be handing them out at the gates to all who enter!!
I have Aleda Mae's towels in my kitchen right now...I can't remember if you gave them to me or Marilee?
But I use them everyday...they have hung on my stove in every kitchen I've had in Uganda.
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