ForeverMissed
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Her Life

Letter to a friend - August 24, 2013

August 26, 2013

Hi, my good friend,  

My mother surprised us again but such a lovely surprise.  So many times others thought she would not make it through the night or day. Yesterday she slept quietly all morning after a restless night of much labored breathing. It was a beautiful day, sunny, with birds singing and flying from here to there in the yard.  Butterflies were everywhere, a Monarch visiting a bright orange Mexican sunflower called a tithonia that Karen used to grow in her garden.  Evan and I watched it with the binoculars, marveling at the sun shining through its wings as it opened and closed them.  When the Hospice nurse and CNA were ready to leave, they, too, took a peek through the binoc's.  I told them that the Hospice in Grand Junction used the Monarch for its symbol, new beginnings.   The nurse and CNA bathed my mother, changed some of the bedding and pads, repositioned her, tended to all they could do for her without causing any more pain.  They even turned down the sheet just so, creating a "frame" with the neckline of her teal colored nightie and the floral pillow case with coordinating color.  She looked so very comfortable and radiant.   At lunchtime, Evan and I went out to the porch, sitting just a few feet from her bed, the porch door open wide so that we could hear her peaceful slumber. We were watching the activity in the yard, feeling as if we were in a butterfly and bird house.  We reminisced about the good times on this porch and how Mom loved to sit here through the day. We are sure she heard our delight and laughter. I kept going in every few minutes to check on her and one time when I looked, I thought the lace on her nightie was nearly still. In the night there were times when she wouldn't breathe for 30 seconds or so. She looked so incredibly beautiful and content now.  I whispered to Evan to come and we knew then she had given us her last loving gift, drifting away so easily, quietly, peacefully, happily on such a beautiful day surrounded with the beauty of her yard, the love of her family, the trust in her God.  Dear friend, it was not sad and all I could do was say over and over how beautiful she is, isn't she just so beautiful, stroke her hair and cheek, tell her "Thank you" and "We love you," and kiss her, all the while with one arm around Evan.  Of course, the tears flowed but not out of sorrow, but out of a kind of joy and gratefulness and the love in our hearts. I think the memory of this moment will sustain me and help all of us through the days ahead.

Summary of the Life of Amy Henry

August 26, 2013

 

Amy Henry died peacefully at home on August 23, 2013. A 60-year resident of Old Lyme, she was well known in the community and admired as a friend, colleague and mentor.  Always dedicated to her family, she especially enjoyed being surrounded by her children and their families through her last month. 

Amy Elizabeth Zimmermann was born May 9, 1920 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the eldest of four daughters of William and Catherine Zimmermann.  Her early childhood included living in Louisiana, South Dakota and Puerto Rico, followed by adolescence and high school in Troy, New York.  After graduation in 1938, she met Elbert Henry, an engineering student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, marrying in 1941 and moving to his hometown of Port Henry, New York.  Their first two children were born just prior to and while Elbert was in the Navy during WWII.  In 1952, then with five children, the family moved to Old Lyme to enable Elbert to work in the nuclear submarine program at General Dynamics/Electric Boat.  The family grew to include seven children by 1955. 

After her husband’s death from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 1964, Amy immediately enrolled in Connecticut College as one of its first “return to college” students in addition to single-parenting her five youngest children.  She completed her education degree in six years, graduating in 1971 at age 51 to begin her career as a primary grade-school teacher at Center School in Old Lyme.  Twenty years later, in 1991, she officially retired from teaching first grade at Mile Creek School.  Quickly realizing retirement did not suit her, she resumed her career as a substitute teacher and teacher’s aide at Mile Creek School, unofficially retiring again at age 91 at the end of the 2010 – 2011 school year.  Throughout her career, Amy was an advisor, mentor, partner, and friend to colleagues of all ages.  She was respected and admired for her calm but assertive approach to education and for providing her students with community-enhancing educational experiences such as the annual first-grade patriotic program.  She also served many years on the board of the McCurdy-Salisbury Educational Foundation.

The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme was an important, enjoyable and rewarding part of Amy’s life.  She expressed her love of singing and choral music as a long-time choir member and supported children’s spiritual education through her many years of teaching Sunday school.  She also served as a church deacon and volunteered often with church events and programs such as the White Elephant Sale and the church’s support of the New London Soup Kitchen.

Amy’s first priority was always her large family.  She often hosted family gatherings, including annual Thanksgiving dinners, a few of which were so well attended that they were held at the church’s parish hall.  Over the years, Amy also put her own life on hold to care for her parents, her husband and several children as they fought major or terminal illnesses.   She was pre-deceased by her son Robert and daughter Karen and is survived by daughter Lauren Gunderson and sons Eric, Kim, Dave and Evan Henry, and granddaughter Kira whom she raised from middle school through college after Karen’s death.  She is also survived by 15 additional grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, two sisters and numerous nieces and nephews.

Amy will be remembered for not only her good deeds and work but also for her generosity to her respective friends and colleagues.  She hosted annual holiday and end-of-school-year parties for Mile Creek School teachers at her home even after her second retirement in 2011.  Friends and new and old acquaintances were always welcome at her kitchen table or front porch for sharing her ever-available home-baked cookies and dry wit.  Ever independent, Amy was known to swim at White Sands Beach well into October and enjoyed and insisted on mowing her own lawn into her nineties.