Our Mom was a wonderful Mother. The Best!! Her and Dad did such a wonderful job of bring up their 4 boys. We all turned out what she expected ….. College educated yes, but what I believe was most important to Our Mom was for us to be all together with a TIGHT bond that will never be broken.
Family has always been important to Mom……….
Mom was born to Faye Ramsey in 1950. She never knew who her father was. She did have her family still in her life: Faye was her Mom, her brother Danny was her rock, Aunt Connie was her friend, and her Grandma Carrie seemed to me always to be such a mother figure.
When Mom was 2 months old she was put into foster care and this is when she met the Smallwood family. She was 1 of 67 foster kids that the Smallwoods had taken into their care. Wow. That is something to say 67! I have always been impressed with this number and what always followed………..she was the only one that Grandma and Grandpa Smallwood adopted. Now that I have known my Mom for as long as I have I can see why they choose her and I am sure you can too.
Mom now has Bud, Liz, her Sisters Lou and Donna and Brother Paul in her life. She was much younger than her new siblings so Mickey was more like an older cousin / older friend, to all her nieces and nephews. As Lou, Donna, and Paul had kids my mom couldn’t be happier! Aunt Lou had 6 kids, Aunt Donna had 7 and Uncle Paul had 4. As the family grew with our cousins getting married and having kids of their own, now she got to be “Aunt Mickey” which she loved so much. Each of you cousins held a special place in her heart and knows what you meant to our Mom. Do know…. that you touched her and molded her into who she was just as much as she touched your lives. She reminded us boys all the time what she learned from growing up in the Smallwood family and she passed these great qualities to us. And don’t worry Mom we promise we will pass on this love to our kids for generations to learn.
Mickey met my Dad, Frank, at St. Gregory’s in St. Ann. Dad was a year ahead of Mom so they weren’t in the same grade growing up but found each other as they went to Ritenour High. A funny story that I always heard my Mom and Dad share….. One time Dad dropped Mom off at 11pm at her house and Grandma Smallwood came out furious running down the yard, that we cousins grew to love, with curlers in her hair and a mop in her hand threating my Dad. But she learned to love Frank as her son-in-law and Mom and Dad were married at St. Gregory’s church 44 years ago last month. Mom and Dad have had such a wonderful bond which is an example for all of true love.
In the same year they welcomed Chris. Dad was in the service at the time so they lived in many cities with Chris growing up. They had only 1 child for 7 years until I was born #2. I believe it was at this point my Mom who loved girls so much started to wonder if she would ever have a girl of her own. 3yrs later Michael was born, not a girl, and for the last try at a girl….. 3yrs later…. Tommy was born, still no girl. She loved all of her “crazy boys” even though at times as she always said “it was like living in a locker room.” Mom and Dad provided a wonderful home to grow as a family and we did.
In 2000, Josie the first Grandbaby was here and to Mom’s surprise it was a GIRL!!! She had been waiting for 30 years to have a girl and it finally happened. Then Chris and Becky had 2 more girls Annelise and Gabrielle. Grandma couldn’t have been happier! No more blue……. all pink all the time. Mickey loved being a grandma and she was so proud of each of you girls.
The family is still growing as Tracy and I had the twin boys Charlie and Will and of course our little girl Annie Michelle. Grandma was elated to hear about another girl but she was most proud that the girls now outnumbered the boys in the Pagel family. Something she never would have imagined!
In the Spring Michael is marrying Lauren and Tom has Kelsey in his life. That makes 9 girls and 7 boys.
A couple of things always have stood out in my mind when I think of my Mom: Disney of course, How much she loved Christmas!, Our all Green St. Patrick’s day dinners (and I do mean GREEN, everything even the milk, which I always had a hard time drinking green milk), Her GREAT relationship with all of her friends, her love for all kids especially her nieces, nephews and her Grandkids, the unbreakable bond she had with Dad, and her overall positive attitude with love for life.
At the end of her time here, she had been struggling but never without a smile. She was an amazing woman to go through all the health problems she had in her life but to handle it so gracefully and smiling the whole way. What an example of how to LIVE life to its fullest. Ultimately though the health issues just became too much to handle and now she is at peace in heaven with Jesus and all of our family and friends that have passed.
My Dad, brothers and I would like to thank each of you for celebrating Mom’s life. Thank you for everyone that came by the hospital in her last 49 days while she was sick. Your support was needed and Mickey sure knew that you were there at this challenging time. We truly don’t know what we boys would have done without your support through all this. Also a special thank you to the care we received at Mercy Heart Hospital ICU unit their care was top notch.
Leaving on a sad note would not be a true commemoration of Mickey Pagel though. She always saw the good in all. All we ask is that you remember how she touched each one of you personally and through that wonderful memory bring joy to others lives remembering Mickey and her BIG smile!
Thank you.
Ken