Had to let this settle with me for a while before I could really bring myself to say goodbye; not quite there yet, apparently, but here goes anyway!

Not sure how unusual this is, but I can honestly say I literally cannot recall *any* bad times with Mom; nothing but support, encouragement and love from her.  What more could you really ask for from your mom?

One of my earliest memories is of Mom crying and I was trying to comfort her.  I was 3.  I realized many years later this incident was when JFK was shot.

Every time I was sick, she had me sleep on the couch in the family room so she could keep an eye on me easier.  The TV was usually on, sitting against the wall on the kitchen counter.  Seemed like every time I was sick, it was in wintertime and Maude would be watching hockey. Stan Makita, Bobby Hull, and all the other Blackhawks were like family to her.  Her knowledge of the game stuns me in hindsight, she really loved it!

I remember her letting me stay up and watch Neil Armstrong take his first step onto the moon; I was 8 at the time.

How about the piano, against the inside wall of the family room, right next to the couch.  Many fond memories of her playing, and even touching up the tuning of that old upright when it got to be a bit off.

And the ironing board being set up in front of the piano, and Mom ironing for hours, late into the night, taking care of a family of 10.  And the continuously-running washer and dryer in the basement.  And when one of them would break, in the short time it took Dad to fix it, there would be literal mountains of laundry, clogging up the laundry chute until we couldn't even put anything into it on the 3rd floor!

I can still see how happy she was when Dad finally finished the repairs on the kid's bathroom on the 2nd floor, so that she could have her bathroom back instead of 10 people using hers.

Always dragging several kids around to various activities, like the singing lessons and all the instruments with the nuns at St Pets.

How about all the driving she did for the swimming meets?  And her stopwatch, timing us all when we were up during the meets!  And taking us down to St Pets pool and hanging out during swim practice.

I can still see her telling me that IBM was hiring in downtown Chicago and that I should apply, even though I had only just turned 18.  She knew, somehow, and I ended up being the youngest Customer Engineer they ever hired; never would have happened without her encouragement.

She always took an interest in the crazy little gadgets I built, even the ones that were pretty much useless.

Fourth of July family gatherings in the backyard, with some of our other relatives coming in from WI and IN, and Mom getting a chance to sit down for a while in a lawn chair and converse with Adults for a change.

When she was moving from Glen Ellyn to Sturgeon Bay, I was helping her load up the moving truck, and the parking brake failed while it was backed into her steep driveway.  It rolled down and out into the street, crossing into the neighbor's yard and rammed into a tree.  A dresser tumbled off the lift gate and smashed on the driveway.  She took it all with zero upset, like it happened every day and was perfectly normal.

Also recall the crazy 'forts' we would build using blankets and sheets, and she never got upset about any of it.  Especially in the summer, we had those fans that sat on the floor and were round and blew out air 360' horizontally, and we would hold down a bedsheet with a bunch of books stacked on top of the fan to 'channel' the air over to our bed when it was 100'F and 99% humidity.

I still think about how she fought so hard to quit smoking over the years, and she made us all PROMISE to never start.  She wanted us all to surpass her highest expecations of us, and she helped us do that.

And of course, this couldn't be complete without mentioning 2 other truly Maude-excelling things.  Her fudge (which Tim managed to master), and FREEZIONI (which I am desperate to find or recreate the recipe for)!

RIP Maude.

You had a good life, and I'm grateful for everything you ever did for me, taught me and shared with me.

My favorite memories are with you in Door County, the place you loved the most.

So happy you are not suffering anymore. I love you and I'll miss you.

See my favorite pic of you from happier and healthier times.

As expected as this was, I'm bummed I'm half way around the world right now...

Making Mom laugh with the family room door.

Taking Sturgeon Bay vacations to see the Derennes was family camping fun!

Trying to discipline the un-disciplinable - me - with her wooden spoon.

She was Mom to everyone, not just me. Matt Elbrecht especially liked her.

When I needed her in college to get over a rough patch, she was there.

She always had a beautiful smile on her face.

Speaking of smiles, she was a great jitterbugger in the kitchen.

I got my start loving sports from Mom yelling at the Blackhawks on TV.

I loved visiting her in Sturgeon Bay and exploring Door County with her.

When she lived with the WIlsons, flying in for a dinner date was always a treat.