Today, you would have been 98. And I find myself smiling, fondly remembering your birthday parties. It seems like they were always sunny afternoons, marked by good food and even better company. I wish I could hear the poem you would have come up with about being 98. Love you so much!

I knew Mary Lee very briefly, I worked as a server in the retirement home she lived at and she was an utter delight to be around. She always made me smile with her stories and mischievous grins. She was a kind and gentle soul, so when I started she was very patient as I worked up my speed in the service of handling her lunches and dinners in the dining area. She was always surrounded by her friends and having great laughter and times. They sat at the same place always, in the center in the back of the dining area, bathed in sunlight looking like angels.

I remember how happy she was that she had a great grandchild and she showed me the pictures. So cute!!!! I could have talked with her for hours and hours. Alas, I always had to pull myself away to the rest of my duties.

I'm honored to read more about her life and the people she touched. I recall a limerick she recited sometimes to us,,, but only the first lines, if anyone happened to know the rest it would be lovely to know so I remember her better. I'm wishing good thoughts to wherever she may be now and I'll always have a smile when I think of her.

"My Name is Mary Lee, I am 93"

My Mother loved people,
   bowling, laughter, and dance.
   Her smile lit the world, as she stole centerstage.
My Mother strove to be, yearned to be, more.
   A breaker of boundaries, a champion.
     She was generous, chatty, and full of life.
My Mother was soulful, fluid, vulnerable,
   and made of steel.
   She was bold, defiant, resolute.
My mother loved writing limericks, telling jokes,
to sing, draw and paint.
   She made beautiful cards, gave them freely.
My mother loved people, was kind,
and liked to make you smile.
   Hers will be greatly missed.