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At DFW Airport in Dallas, Texas

May 2, 2016

Dee Dee with her late Great Aunt Hattie Mae & Cousin Peaches

My Buddies

April 29, 2016

What can one say that knew Tommie & Claudie.  Oh the times the four of us have had.  We grew up together with me eating at 711 S. Doak almost every Sunday after church.  I would be on my way and look back and Bess, Tommie and whoever else would be behind me; but I was going to eat whatever Muh Dear and Doris had prepared.  Oh yea.  Tommie and Blue were true friends to R.L. and me and I know that we too were too them.  Like previous readings, we ate, bar-b-qued and drank Caudie, R.L. & me together while Tommie cursed us, and told us just how stupid we were looking at the time.  Oh boy. We were just plain simple folk, no pretending at all.  We wouldn't have known how to pretend.  -ha-  My children know nothing but Aunt Sweetie Pie and Uncle Claudie.  
I thank God, oh yes I do for having been raised with the two and having Tommie & Claudie in my life.  The day they got married they came to my house there in Taylor and we laughed, joked and they were SO PROUD!. Tommie and Claudies's friendship and love was the real thing.  I'm grateful that they left together.  I am.  Both would have it no other way.     I thank God for them,  two wounderful souls have gone on before us and again I'm so, so blessed for having had them. Dee Dee my sweet, whatever it is that you may need like I told you, I'm here.  Michael, and Lynda thank God for you. 

Love to U all, Bess, Vern, Ruth, Lynda, Michael and especially Dee Dee and all
other nieces and nephews.  Love to ya.

noreen    

The Blues - What a Legacy

April 26, 2016

To DeeDee and the Family,

We haveall becme familiar with this beautiful love story that began in the first grade in Taylor, Texas and blossomed for well over 70 years.  He, in later years, affectionately referred to her as Momma, and she, to him, as Daddy.  Right up to the final weeks of his life, Mr. Blue was still looking out for “his girls” as he lovingly referred to them in a conversation with me.  He stated that now that I have them in proper professional medical care, I can now focus on me, as he went in for his surgery. 

Mr. Blue (Claudie) and Ms. Blue (Sweetie Pie) became the extended family to our family in May of 1983.  Although my wife, Desyria, had known them since she was 10 years old, I would not meet them until 1983 when they invited us into their home to live while our house was being built.  She and her family (Vernon and Bessie Standard, daughter, Patricia) would meet them in 1963, during their Del Rio, Texas Air Force assignment days and later England and DC.  I was reluctant to accept their offer as I didn’t know these people, but soon found out that you did not argue with Sweetie Pie.  Not only would they adopt our daughters, as they had my wife, but they would later become their Godparents.  By the way, if you look up Godparent in the dictionary, you would probably find their faces as they epitomize what the term meant and so much more.  I found this to be so very special as they were there for every milestone and every accomplishment of our children lives along with forever exposing them to new experiences while creating memories that we all cherish to this day.  They were so devoted to this responsibility that they would send their proxy, DeeDee to Houston to represent them at Joi's wedding.  A few years later, it did not go unnoticed, although, failing in health, that they personally made it a point to attend Kim’s wedding, over a year ago. 

When you visited their home, food was always a centerpiece even if it had to be ordered in.  Although not intended, you always over stayed and your face would hurt upon leaving as they would have probably had you laughing the whole visit.  Although God had granted them financial comfort, I came to love them because they never took themselves so serious as to not enjoy the daily simple joys that He provided in their lives but was always willing to share.  They simply loved my wife and especially our children.  Although, we were not suppose to know, not only did they support Joi and Kim socially and emotionally but also financially, secretly, while they were in college.   Of course, what I found out later was that what they did for our daughters was not so special.  Although they only had one child, DeeDee, whom they loved unconditionally, that they, indeed, had indirectly and sometimes, through the course of their lives, directly raised hundreds more.  They both knew personally, every child in their immediate and extended families by birth name and nickname and often reached out to assist, support or congratulate them on reaching each major milestone in their lives as well.  In addition, they were also there when each child and sometimes adult, would stumble or fall to support, console, empathize or sympathize with words of encouragement. Both of them, believed deeply, first in God and both believed, most importantly in every child being provided an opportunity to achieve.  For Ms. Blue, it was academically and in life.  For Mr. Blue, it was reaching for the brass ring in your careers as they both lived their lives representing what you could accomplish if you simply applied yourself and not take no for an answer.   Ms. Blue made it her mission to personally know each child who came under her care or through her classroom and made it a point to know each of their families as well.  The phrase, “Teaching the Whole Child” was one that she totally believed in as she visited children’s homes in DC to personally connect with parents, as some of those parents had earlier been her students.  Her aim was to help break the cycle of poverty by personally providing every child an opportunity to achieve and excel, beyond their current condition, in whatever God had in store for them. Her beautiful mind was like a computerized vault where information gathered from life went in, was locked down, but could be unlocked and recalled within minutes, five years later like it was yesterday.  Mr. Blue was forever pushing you to aim for the next career level and sometimes, precariously, continued to personally extend his career by living through and enjoying your personal achievements as though they were his own, as he simply wanted the very best for you.  He loved fishing and especially barbecueing.

People often wonder how, and if, they will be remembered once they leave this earthy life.  I don’t think the Blues needed to worry about this as the world that they leave is now a better place because God allowed them to stop by and make an impact on so many of our lives in such a very positive and personable way.  The Blues leave a legacy of caring, loving, supporting, enjoying life to its fullest.  They are truly an example of what you can accomplish when you deeply love and embrace, unconditionally, not only each other, but unapologetically, every life that God places in your path as they continually sought the good in everybody and simply tried to exploit it.

To DeeDee, you have every right to be jealous of the love affair that your parents had with other children and if you were, we never saw it.  For you now represent a life time of intentional and unintentional teachings of how life should be lived by the example that they displayed in your life daily. We pray for the very best for you and please know that they left you in a good place with friends and family that will always be there for you.

I pray that we all keep them in our memories as we now stand on their great shoulders as we have with our other ancestors who have exhibited unwavering faith in what one can accomplish in this life by keeping God first.  If you, personally, wish to continue their legacy, simply live unselfishly, daily, by making a positive impact and difference in the lives of others that He, places in your path.


Submitted by Sam and Desyria Short  

A Thank You Note!

April 24, 2016

Generosity - The habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return!

Thank you, Uncle Claudie & Aunt Sweetie Pie for your generosity over the years. Thank you for welcoming me and my children into your home, your family, and your hearts. Thank you for loving my husband and expanding that love to our entire family. Thank you for all the days, evenings, and weekends you provided a safe haven for our baby without hesitation. Thank you for all the Grandparents Days, Black History Month Programs, and various school events you attended at Reid Temple Christian Academy.

Sweetie Pie, Thank You, for affectionately greeting me with "Hello Darling," when I came into the house. Thank you for defending my womanhood at the slightest hint of inequality. Thank you for believing DeAngelus could do "no wrong" (even when she was clearly wrong)! Thank you for making me feel as if, "Thank you" was never necessary, by responding "Oh Please!" when I tried to express graditude.

Uncle Claudie, Thank You for always sounding pleasantly surprised when I called, even if we just spoke a moment ago. Thank you for all of your stories about the military and government  and for listening with anticipation as I revealed the latest shenanigans of government life. Thank you for DeAngelus' cooking lessons, scooter rides, and private talks on the steps. And of course, Thank You for your service and dedication to our Nation as an Airforce Veteran.

Thank you both for teaching me what "generosity in action" looks like,  which--in its essence-- is a practical expression of love! 

~Adrienne

Grammar lessons and Pizza Hut

April 23, 2016

Uncle Claudie and Aunt Sweetie Pie (who my sister and I shortened to Pie) were our godparents. And in that, we ultimately got an extra set of grandparents, cheerleaders, friends, teachers and so much more. For all of my life, they spoiled us with countless amounts of Pizza Hut and trips to the movies, loved on us when we weren’t feeling well (even if we were faking sick so that we could skip school and hang out with them instead), exposed us to new experiences including our regular trips to see stage plays, and were part of the village that kept our education a priority – whether it be grammar debates with Pie or the two of them enrolling us in monthly book clubs before we were big enough to even hold the books ourselves. 

And on top of all of that, we got an extra sister too, in Dee Dee and another aunt in Aunt Laverne. I know that many are not as fortunate to have godparents like the two of them – and they far exceeded their role in sharing so much, including their family with us. But I know that we are not unique. That’s just who the two of them were and they shared and loved on every person they touched. 

It breaks our hearts to never get to experience having one more 2-hour long phone conversation with Pie where we'd rattle off every detail of our lives, from the crazy drama of middle school, to the new experiences of college to challenges in our first jobs. And it hurts to never get to hear the latest joke from Uncle Claudie and kiss him on his bald head when we say goodbye. But, in the end, it warms us more to know that right now, they can finally rest and, most importantly, they’re resting together. We love you, Pie and Uncle Claudie.

56th Anniversary

April 19, 2016

Mom & Dad typically didn't want to do anything special for their anniversary but 
I usually ignored them and did something anyway.
This anniversary I was gonna do what I was told to do and do nothing.  I happened to mention this at work and was nearly stoned to death by 2 co-workers in particular (James McKinney & Sheila Montano).
Sheila got on the internet and ordered a fruit basket, James sat me down in front of the computer so that I could pay for the order and type something special for the card....these are the results!             

Daddy/Daughter Bonding

April 19, 2016

After I was born, my mom went back to work as a D.C. Public School teacher. Trying to keep up with a new baby's schedule was exhausting.  She and Daddy worked out a schedule where he would take the 2 am feeding so that she could sleep.
It worked out beautifully!  Daddy would feed me, change the diaper, comb my hair and pose me---it was then Picture Time!  These were the best times and Momma slept right through them :o)  She knew nothing about them until the pictures came back in the mail.

DeAngelus and The Karate Party

April 17, 2016

During DeAngelus' Karate party she exhibited a couple of poses and moves to demonstrate her skills (that she just learned minutes ago). Although her moves were clunky, Unc and DD were quite impressed. Unc even responded with moves of his own!

The "whatever you say" Look

April 17, 2016

This is the look that Unc often gave me when he didn't believe my answer. For example, he would ask me "where did you and the fellas go last night?" I would answer, "bible study."

A Good Day

April 17, 2016

This was a memorable day because we joked with the photographer and laughed so much that we had to quickly get serious when she counted to three. After a full day of pictures, we ate and laughed at Olive Garden until sleep was upon us!

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