Dear Cousins, Jill, Gaye and Tom, April 25, 2021
Your Mom was and is an amazing person and I am lucky to have known her and to have been the recipient of her generosity and inspiration. I look forward to being together in person later this year to continue this remembrance.
Memories and Facts
Vague early-day memories of a car with no roof, magic moving windows and excitement she was at the center of. Later, handmade gifts coming by mail. What was happening? When I was a child she was the person to be impressed with and thankful to be related to.
There were nights in St. Louis, her having me stay as if her house was mine, the gentle roar of cicadas and the heat before air conditioning. It was still always comfortable there.
I remember over time meeting people in the Saint Louis University community who when learning of the relation invariably said, “Oh, Linda Fisher!”, and my account was credited.
I remember the joy of sharing in her flower garden next to the garage or any number of beautiful things she had created, or found and brought into her orbit. You just had to look and see that every bit of it was good.
Could my life have been survived without the fun-est, best-est, infatigue-able shopping which was never to be pardoned away, and was always called for, always to be achieved?
Answer: It could not.
Questions and Answers
Who did it? Who built a very successful, long career and never bragged about it? Who did the gardening, the showcase home creation, the talented DIY projects one step away from complete remodeling, and kept the intellect and quick wit? Who had her own shop when most women didn’t handle a hammer? Who learned about a pomegranate tree with seed balls encased in leather and sent an industrial juicer 3000 miles to her niece in California to deal with them definitively? Who always looked great and was on top of the conversation? Who modeled excellence and was quick to recognize it in the world around her? Who's unfettered largesse and excess spilled over to everyone at Christmas time, with careful early planning and execution, gifts, delicious and extensive arrays of food, and a tree each bough decorated 3 ornaments deep?
Who helped you understand these things were possible because they happened?
Who was it? Who always read and attended to her friends and family, never forgetting culture and amusement like a good circus? Who loved to travel and actually did it? Who reminded you she was genuinely humble despite her talents and accomplishments with an occasional subtle and clever, self-depreciating joke? Who never issued a slight? Who was brave in facing trouble and survived significant hardship nonetheless? Who had your back?
This person was someone entirely self-made, principled, loving and kind, a force of nature, incredibly smart and good at so many things, including being human. She is and was your Mother and my Aunt. I love you Linda, and I miss you from my heart.
