ForeverMissed
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Her Life
May 21, 2014

  TO MY TWO FAVORITES

  I may not say it often,
   but I mean it most sincere

  I love you both at Christmas
   And I love you both all year.

  When I count my blessings,
   and I do,
                         There always is ... the two of you.

                        Written by Bobbie Shaw
 

April 10, 2014

            THE WINDS OF TIME

    The winds of time can find us
      in different worlds - apart

    But we can see each other
      through the windows of our heart

    And so my friend we can share
      our gladness and our sorrows

                           And the winds of time may find us

                             in all of our tomorrows


                               Written by Bobbie Shaw
                                   July 21, 1984


    On December 7th, 2013 a service was held at the          United Methodist Church of Westlake where her poem was
      read by Rev. Gary Dickey and touched by all who attended.                       

   


December 5, 2013

Dearest Mom, 

I want to thank you for the life you gave me, for the security you provided when times were hard. 

I want to thank you for all the valuable lessons you taught us, ones that your father taught you. You lived by them and followed his example with your honesty and your hard work.

From my earliest memory of you to my very last moment with you I felt your warmth and with you I never felt alone.  I can think of you and like a slide show, thousands of moments that I spent with you run through my mind.  They play like a love story of the deepest love that one can feel for another human being.

I want to thank you for all the memories, our days in the sun where time was not our enemy, where we spent hours chatting away as your soft skin turned to the most beautiful color of brown.

I want to thank you for being with me through every memorable moment in my life.  You always took care of me and never left me, supporting me through my most difficult times and sharing with me the most glorious ones.

I want to thank you for all the lunches we shared, and all the holidays you made complete; without you none of them will ever be the same, there will always be an empty hole in my heart that no one will ever fill.

I want to thank you for all the laughs, the countless times we giggled like teenagers.  As we faced your final days you told me, “We have to be thankful for all the years we had together and the laughs we had, not everyone gets that.”

When I learn to smile again, I will remember yours; so big and genuine, so contagious, your personality so positive and your heart so generous.

But mostly mom I want to thank you for being my mother and my best friend.  I want to thank you for all the unconditional love you showed me.  For all the “I love you notes” and the “I love you presents” on any given day. For every hug when we said hello and that final hug when we had to say goodbye.

     I will Endlessly Miss You and Always Love you,    
From your DDD, your Dearest Darling Daughter

December 5, 2013

      MAY SHE HAVE

The spirit of her mother
Like a colt set free

The softness of her father
Like snow upon a tree

The charm of her grandfather
That comes to only few

The honesty of her great grandfather
That so few of us really knew

The willingness to be her own
To laugh, to love and be free

But let there be a part of her
That reminds someone of me
 

Written by Bobbie Shaw
April 14th 1982 

To Nicole, “I wrote this poem a couple days before you were born. I had a baby girl first and she was a joy to say the least and I wanted that for your mother. I was hoping for a little granddaughter and to encourage that hope I wrote a poem two days before you arrived.”

December 5, 2013

     MY DECEMBER SUN

My sun shines in December
Brilliant for so many years
And I could say only that once
It rained … and I cried tears

There’s children to gather
With love words to speak
And long ago friends
                       With memories to seek

There’s new little treasures
That I can watch and grow
And loves that I miss
More than they know

There’s tears that are shed
Because you’re not here
And yet…
It’s my favorite time of year

I feel the warmth that comes to me
Though winter has just begun
I feel the love that always shines
In my December sun

Written by Bobbie Shaw
December 7, 1986

She was presented with an Award of Merit Certificate from World Of Poetry on October 1, 1986

This poem was dedicated to her father, Frederick William Barkus, who passed away December 24, 1962 at the age of 49. Her father was her guardian here on earth and now he is her angel in heaven. 

   

To Our "Favorite Mom"

November 23, 2013


Mom, you loved us first and never gave up on us.  You were a superior human being who gave us a lifetime of dedication. No matter what choices we made, your faith and pride in us made the journey a success.

Your 29 years of service to Safeway; retiring in 1991 was well deserved.  Being the positive person that you are, you were always grateful for your job.  You couldn’t say enough about all the wonderful people you met and the funny buttons you wore to get a laugh from your customers.  The joy within you always radiated in everything you did.

Who finds the joy in the simplest things the way you do? Your funny sayings on funny sweatshirts only added to your charm.  Besides your playful nature, you always wore your heart on your sleeve.  You were filled with satisfaction when you donated to others and recycled the smallest piece of paper. You spread a part of your generosity to everyone you touched.

Who could forget the love you had for your 64’ Impala and the roads you traveled for forty five years until you passed it to a stranger to love and cherish, the way you did.

You loved your upstairs apartment; entertaining yourself with your stocks and your collectables.  You loved the Dodgers and the sound of Vince Scully’s voice, the wisdom of Rush and the true stories your books brought to your life. 

Every plant that you planted, every coin you collected, every lottery ticket you made a wish on, all brought you joy.  Your admiration for Ronald Reagan and our troops was displayed on every envelope and through your donations.

To see the world through your eyes and to see everything in green is something we will never forget, the color green will always remind us of you.

We will never be able to gather again and not feel the emptiness in the room.  We will miss your blinking margarita glass, our empty ice maker and the smile it brought to your face.  You were always the life of the party and the last one standing.

All of these things and more are what make you such an exceptional, unforgettable person.  You have the utmost love and respect from your children and your grandchildren; Nicole, Shawna and Joey.  You are sincerely loved and will always have a special place in the hearts of all the Shaw’s.  And with that... you always felt you were home. 

Words cannot express the love we feel for you, though we tried in every birthday card, in every hug, in every last "I love you."  So young at heart and so full of life, how do we learn to let you go?  We will have each other to comfort but it will never be the same without you, our hearts are truly broken.

We know you'd want us to remember all that we are to one another, and to appreciate all the years and the laughs we had. You'd want us to stop and feed the birds and collect the pennies that we find, to be honest to others and mostly... be true to ourselves.

How ironic that in the 1950’s you and Dad moved us to Thousand Oaks to live on a ranch; who would of known after all these years we would have come full circle to be together once again. Now you will be placed next to the man you always loved so unconditionally.  

We want to thank you mom for every day that you gave us and for decorating our lives.  We want to toast to you and to the good times we shared.

We can only hope that you are content and at peace, you deserve that and so much more, and if God willing, we will see you again someday.

             With everlasting love and devotion,
                     Jolene and Steven