Jo Straight was flat out loved and valued by a lot of people! She was 86 years old.
I knew my Aunt Jo was cool and I enjoyed being around her, but it there was a whole lot more to Jo than I ever guessed. Ed & I were lucky enough this time around to actually have the time and means to go to this family funeral, and I'll always be grateful that we were able to do so. That is one large family!
Uncle Ed is about 89 now, and clear as a bell mentally, and still drives his Cadillac DTS.
He has 5 kids, Ed(60?), Joey(56), Sara, Harriet, Mary Ann. I would say all these adult kids are over 50 or close to it.
They were all there, each with a spouse or significant other. There are grandchildren and at least 3 great grandchildren. There are cousins of mine teaching school right here in Montgomery County, not very far from my house. Other cousins teaching in Baltimore (Levi Straight).
On Thursday, we left Bethesda about 7AM, hoping to make it to Columbus in time for a quick change in the hotel and get to the funeral home by 5pm or thereabouts. That worked, with a minor problem in Cumberland, Maryland with a state trooper.
We pulled into the hotel in Columbus and ask to leave the car on the street in front while we ran in to change clothes. The valets agreed, and we hurriedly changed.
I'm so glad we did. The funeral home was in Westerville, a nice suburban area north of Columbus. It got crowded during the evening, and we took a little break from time to time. Uncle Stanley and Aunt Donna were there from Florida. They are in their 80's I think, Uncle Stanley had just had eyelid surgery to help with an eye problem he was having. He also just had a minor skin problem removed from his nose, so poor Stanley looked a little beat up. But, really, he looked good for just having had surgery. I think he must have a top notch surgeon in Florida. I think they live in Vero Beach, but I'll have to get an address from Mom to be sure. They were fun to talk to, both their kids, Joanna and Ricky are in Florida now.
Although Ed & I had been a bit uncertain about staying for Friday's service, the family convinced us to stay. We went to the church and sat with Stanley and Donna for the service. Mary Frances Straight Yeager and Ed Yeager, her husband, sat right behind us, so we got to talk just a little with them.
The church service was great! What a great minister, she was a woman and she loved Aunt Jo and knew her well. She cited many interesting moments and comments. It was really great. Ed & Jo had gone to that church for 43 years, and have been married 65 years.
One of the most interesting comments I heard was:
God gave Jo 84 good years, one year for us to take care of her, and one more year for Ed to learn how to be a house husband and take care of himself.That pretty much summed up the family attitude. They were great.
We went back to Uncle Ed's house with the family after sharing a nice lunch back at the church after the burial. Ed's house is much like Dad and Mom's house, but a little smaller. I think about the same vintage, same round silver disc knobs on the bathroom cabinets, same cabinets....same light switches....vintage 1960's. They had added a large "party room" so they could all eat dinner together. It was very nice. That Cadillac pretty much filled up the one car garage.
Harriet lives there with Ed, and won't be moving out anytime too soon. She still works full time as a nurse. Her husband was there too. He lives nearby. She has a house nearby as well.
That family is a lot of fun! They are big, messy, imperfect, funny, witty, brilliant, wholesome, its awesome. They are real, if you know what I mean.
There was a lot of focus on how Jo maintained a positive attitude in the face of everything, random people came up and told me how much she had inspired them....it was really something....People were very very friendly, we didn't feel like outsiders who "didn't know anyone" as I had feared.
I am so glad we got to go.
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