Happy Birthday, Mom!! Your lily bloomed this morning, right on schedule, and the first one of the season as usual! Love and miss you always, Karen

Mom, eight years have passed and you are missed as much now as then! Deb is up visiting us in VT at the moment and we toasted you and Nancy last night. I think she is the perfect person to gift one of your handmade Icelandic sweaters to - Deb speaks often and fondly of you as her 2nd Mom. You were one of the best!!! Much love always, Karen

Mom, it barely seems like 7 years have slipped by since you passed away. I thought of you yesterday on your birthday - I wasn't at home to see whether your lily bloomed, right on time, but I trust that it did. A most sweet remembrance of the sweetest mom! Love you now, love you always, Karen

Seven years gone but never forgotten, Mom! Loved you then, love you now, love you forever, Karen

Mom, today's your birthday and true to form, my lilies are blooming now! When I see a flower garden, I am reminded of you, your beautiful gardens, and the joy you always put into bringing things to life.
Love and miss you,
Karen

Mom,

Six years have come and gone since you passed away, and you are with us as much as ever! Now Dad has joined you and Curt. You are all sorely missed, but Kim and I know you are in a better place. Every time a lily blooms in my garden, I think of you and how much you loved flowers. You live on in our hearts and memories in every beautiful growing plant we see. Love Karen

Mom,

Yesterday was your birthday, and I thought about you. Dad is with you now, and I hope you're both with Curt. You waited patiently for many years. Rest now and know that all is well. We miss you and love you!! OXOXO Karen

It's been five years now, Mom, and you are missed as much today as ever! Love you always, Karen

Today's your birthday, Mom, and true to form, today is the first day of bloom for the lilies in my garden! Love you always, Karen

Mom, It's been four years today since you passed. You are forever remembered and loved in our hearts! Your absence in our lives is eased by the knowledge that you are at peace and in a better place. A place that is filled with the joyful companionship of dogs, our most faithful and loyal friends!
Love you forever, Karen

Mom, today would have been your 93rd birthday. I think you would find it remarkable to know you reached your 90th! Those Murray genes got you there, just like your Aunt Mary. With your birthday being the day after mine, there's no chance of letting the day slip by without remembering and thinking about you. So today I'm remembering all those birthday angel food cakes you baked, loaded down with summer strawberries and an entire mixing bowl of whipped cream that you let us slice into just four pieces! Love you now and always, Karen <3

Three years passed, and you are forever in our hearts! Love you always, Mom. Karen

A Mother's Love  by Helen Steiner Rice

A Mother's love is something
That no one can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
And of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
And enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
Or take that love away...
It is patient and forgiving
When all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
Even though the heart is breaking...
It believes beyond believing
When the world around condemns
And it glows with all the beauty
Of the rarest brightest gems...
It is far beyond defining,
It defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
Like the mysteries of creation...
A many splendoured miracle
Man cannot understand
And another wonderous evidence
Of God's tender guiding hand.

Thinking of you on your birthday, Mom, and remembering how you made all of our birthdays so special! Kim made me an Angel cake with chocolate swirled in and covered it with berries and whip cream just like you used to do. Love and miss you, Karen

Dear Audrey,
It is not the same here at RiverWoods without you. Fred and i enjoyed
two years having dinner at night with you and Al. we loved your stories about dachshunds and flying and having a garden. you have two daughters who frequently come to be with Al. I'm sure you inspired them
to care and be with him often. Al just sent us a photo of Kim's Blue Tick Hound. I will frame it. Karen is here each week.Kim comes every few months from Montana. Al is lucky to have all three such women.

Love,

Fred & Val England

It's been two years now since you departed our world, and we miss and love you as much today as we did when you were still with us. We know you are in a better place, one without pain, and that you rest now in peace. You are forever in our hearts & minds, Mom!! Much love always, Karen

Missing you on your birthday Mom. When I was very young, you let me have my own little garden and you helped plant hollyhocks in it. Our rental farm has lots of flowering plants.. and today a few hollyhocks began to bloom. How fitting!

Today's your birthday, Mom, and seeing the lilies abloom in my garden reminds me of you!! Love always, Karen

Every time I think of Mom; I think of flowers. She always surrounded herself with cheerful blooms. If I had a flower for each time I've thought of and missed Mom during the past year, I'd have a huge garden!

Great memories of great shared times together do not diminish with time. We had many, and they live on, for which I'm grateful.

Thinking of you and your family and remembering your Mom on this day! Memories help to fill the void left by your Mom.  Enjoy each and every memory of her.
Thinking of you!

Remembering you, Mom, and missing you each and everyday, but especially today. Much love always, Karen

"I still miss those I loved who are no longer with me but I find I am grateful for having loved them. The gratitude has finally conquered the loss." Rita Mae Brown

~Prayer For Well-Being ~
May all be happy
May all be without suffering
May all think well of one another
May one's destiny be free from sorrow
 Julie Rappaport

Missing you on your birthday Mom.

Remembering Mom with loving memories on her birthday today. She is forever in our hearts! Love always, Karen

Stephanie Bovio remembers: In 1968 Aunt Audrey picked me up at Logan Airport and delivered me to college in Boston. That was the beginning of special relationship. We loved to spend hours at antique shops; we both loved dogs and Aunt Audrey had the best, each with a unique personality: Hans, Angus, Ian, Schatzie, Caleb & Clint. Dave, the girls & I will miss cross country skiing and wonderful days at the pool. Aunt Audrey & Uncle Spec always welcomed us in their home. We have many fond memories and we will miss her so.  Love, Stephanie

Among the nicest times Fred and I have had in Winnisquam Lodge at RiverWoods have been our dinners with Audrey and Al. We enjoyed their interests in dachshunds and aviation, but we especially enjoyed them as people. Audrey was so appreciative of Al's care during painful and difficult times. He was unusually considerate of her needs.
   There was a simpatico between us. Our time with Audrey was relatively short, but everything we saw in her is all that we like best in a friend.

   Fred and Val England

I know deeply in my heart, there is no real death, only to the vehicle we use to carry our souls...Audrey is a wonderful soul, that has just crossed over to another dimension, that we cannot see, but we will feel her presence many times when we quiet our minds...she was always so easy to be around, very caring to humans and animals alike...and loved life and family to it's fullest...she will always be with us...

My Samoyed dog, Kumo (Cloud), and I used to visit Audrey when she lived in Crawford in RiverWoods. They were always overjoyed to see each other.
From Robin Tenny

Your whole family has always been as close to me more than is known by most. I will miss Audrey immensely. She was a true inspiration to my everything since I was a toddler. My sympathies to her passing. janie and family.

Dear Karen, Kim and Family,
Henry and I have so many great memories of your mom...always connected with flying! We enjoyed the many times we had the opportunity to go to Fly-Ins together, special flying trips and landing somewhere and walking to a restaurant for lunch. Of course, Henry added that after carefully reviewing the menu...your mom and dad would always order a BLT! :) One flying trip that was memorable was the trip to Eastport Maine and staying at a cabin for two nights. We always enjoyed calling them and saying, "Hey, are you up for a trip to Markey's for supper? Meet us at the Hampton airport!" Most often along with your mom and dad would be Carol and George and off we would go to get some clams...steamers for your mom! On the ride we would visit about our kids and what they were up to and this, that and everything...always a good time. Another special time was the 50th anniversary party at the Balsams. The was great! They shared a few milestone family birthday celebrations at our home for us and became part of our extended family. Our son Heath and daughter Kate were also fond of Audrey and were sad to learn of her passing. We are so glad that we had the opportunity to know her and spend time with her over the years. Love, from the entire Lynch Family

Audrey Speckman will live on in the memories of all those whose lives she touched. She will be missed , but not forgotten. Airlines, airplanes,
ski mountains here and abroad, family, and deeply rooted friendships -
all paint a beautiful collage.

Audrey Speckman will live on in the lasting memories of all those whose lives she touched. She will surely be missed, but always remembered. Airplanes, airlines. ski mountains here and abroad,
and deeply rooted friendships - all paint a beautiful collage.

Karen and Kim,
  Cherish the memories and know she left you with so much in her years here. There is a part of her within both of you and at the quietest of moments you will hear her. 
   So sorry for your loss and am thinking of you today, Mother's Day and knowing she is too.
With my deepest Sympathy,
Susan Schafer

One Christmas, Aunt Audrey sent me one of my all time favorite books, "Island of the Blue Dolphins". Another gift, a confirmation gift I think, was a lovely tiny pewter Celtic cross. Favorite memories are visits to the wonderful house with the quarry pool and getting acquainted with whatever much loved canine (some huge, some small) was in residence. Aunt Audrey and Uncle Spec made us very welcome whenever we could visit. I wish we had been able to visit more often. We are thinking of you all.

Some of my fondest summer memories are from visits to Aunt Audrey's house...
 -picking blueberries
 -making forts and secret passages in the rocks
 -floating on "Miss Allie" the alligator in the pool
 -playing with all the troll dolls

Rest peacefully Aunt Audrey, you were loved!

There is one woman known to many of us, and as each human creature knows but one on earth, and it is upon our knowledge of that woman that we base our certitude - Olive Schreiner 1911

Thich Nhat Hanh in “No Death, No Fear”

“The day my mother died I wrote in my journal, “A serious misfortune of my life has arrived.” I suffered for more than one year after the passing away of my mother. But one night, in the highlands of Vietnam, I was sleeping in the hut in my hermitage. I dreamed of my mother. I saw myself sitting with her, and we were having a wonderful talk. She looked young and beautiful, her hair flowing down. It was so pleasant to sit there and talk to her as if she had never died. When I woke up it was about two in the morning, and I felt strongly that I had never lost my mother. The impression that my mother was still with me was very clear. I understood then that the idea of having lost my mother was just an idea. It was obvious in that moment that my mother is always alive in me.
  I opened the door and went outside. The entire hillside was bathed in moonlight. It was a hill covered with tea plants, and my hut was set behind the temple halfway up. Walking slowly in the moonlight through the rows of tea plants, I noticed my mother was still with me. She was the moonlight caressing me as she had done so often, very tender, very sweet…wonderful! Each time my feet touched the earth I knew my mother was there with me. I knew this body was not mine but a living continuation of my mother and my father and my grandparents and great-grandparents. Of all my ancestors. Those feet that I saw as “my” feet were actually “our” feet. Together my mother and I were leaving footprints in the damp soil.
  From that moment on, the idea that I had lost my mother no longer existed. All I had to do was look at the palm of my hand, feel the breeze on my face or the earth under my feet to remember that my mother is always with me, available at any time.”