This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Thelma Workman, 78, born on June 21, 1936 and passed away on September 3, 2014. We will remember her forever.
The audio from the memorial service is available for streaming or can be downloaded as MP3 files.
I wanted to tell about the symbolism of this picture. My mom was all about my dad and her family and made each and every one of us feel special- always. So when it came to picking out her flowers, for us, it was not about the abundance or the cost or any other objectives, it was about love-- who she loved and who loved her back. We decided upon one big red rose, the symbol of the greatest love and eternal love from my dad, who picked out the most beautiful urn for his loved one and we feel my mom would really love this. My parents have so many examples of their love and affection for each other and that is demonstrated on audio on this site from their grandchildren. I know that my mother felt all the love given to her and we felt it back!
I wanted to tell about the symbolism of this picture. My mom was all about my dad and her family and made each and every one of us feel special- always. So when it came to picking out her flowers, for us, it was not about the abundance or the cost or any other objectives, it was about love-- who she loved and who loved her back. We decided upon one big red rose, the symbol of the greatest love and eternal love from my dad, who picked out the most beautiful urn for his loved one and we feel my mom would really love this. This picture is of the roses of love from the rest of us--- 6 white roses from each child of hers and their spouses, the pink roses in front are from each of her 10 grandchildren and the dark pink roses represent her 6 great grandchildren. And together we are all holding her up and helping her along. The Tea Plantation Flower Shop in the Villages were an amazing guide for us as they listened to what we were all about and we are indebted to them for being a part of this with us. Each child was given their rose along with flowers from the other flowers sent by our wonderful and supportive friends and the bouquets are all in the process of being preserved as a keepsake of memories.
I visited Ma & Pa in June of 2014. We celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary that week. I remember sitting on the porch with Ma in the morning and having a conversation about how I would remember them when Chanel and I celebrate ours.
She asked how long we had until then and I said 49 years. She acted surprised and said that we couldn't have been married 11 years already. I said it was true and we smiled at each other.
To celebrate their anniversary, we ate good food all week. One night, I cooked a special meal for Ma & Pa. I remember exactly what I cooked. The meal consisted of three main dishes:
1. filet mignon cooked in BBQ sauce with red onions and red/green/yellow peppers
2. filet mignon cooked in soy sauce with yellow onions and portobello mushrooms
3. stir fried red potatoes with the leftover vegetables from the above dishes
I cooked the filet mignon by wrapping it in tin foil and boiling it in the oven; kinda of like a stew. Ma insisted that her steak be cooked well done. All in all, I cooked for about four hours and was an hour and a half late for the planned dinner time due to the demand for well done steak.
When we finally sat down to eat, everyone was very hungry from smelling steak fo the last few hours. Ma & Pa ate the most food that I had ever seen them eat. Both liked the BBQ filet mignon and potatoes the most, but said the mushroom version was really good.
I think they felt spoiled and loved. That is what I wanted.
