My former sister-in-law died a week ago yesterday. She’d had cancer, been able to recover from the first round of it but not the second round. She was 59 years old.
I first met Renee when I was 19 and newly married to one of her brothers. She was also newly married and had gotten married in a field the previous summer. If you knew her, you’d know that that’s how she was: she lived a quiet life, as close to nature as she could get and wasn’t all that interested in the more conventional trappings of success.
She and her husband ended up having six children, I believe. I wasn’t married to her brother any more by the time she had the last two but thanks to the ubiquitous nature of Facebook, she and I reconnected and I learned of her children and her grandchildren.
I last saw her at a family wedding Kent and I went to nearly three years ago. She looked great—this was after she’d gone in remission for breast cancer—also happy and fulfilled. It was good to catch up with her and I was able to tell her that I had lots of fond memories of our time as sisters-in-law.
Renee’s funeral was today. I’m sure her brother, my ex, was a mess. He was closest to her of all the siblings so it’s got to be hard. I didn’t go (obviously) but she’s been on my mind, she and her children ever since I learned of her death last week. My hope is that her children are comforted by knowing how much she loved them.
I first met Renee when I was 19 and newly married to one of her brothers. She was also newly married and had gotten married in a field the previous summer. If you knew her, you’d know that that’s how she was: she lived a quiet life, as close to nature as she could get and wasn’t all that interested in the more conventional trappings of success.
She and her husband ended up having six children, I believe. I wasn’t married to her brother any more by the time she had the last two but thanks to the ubiquitous nature of Facebook, she and I reconnected and I learned of her children and her grandchildren.
I last saw her at a family wedding Kent and I went to nearly three years ago. She looked great—this was after she’d gone in remission for breast cancer—also happy and fulfilled. It was good to catch up with her and I was able to tell her that I had lots of fond memories of our time as sisters-in-law.
Renee’s funeral was today. I’m sure her brother, my ex, was a mess. He was closest to her of all the siblings so it’s got to be hard. I didn’t go (obviously) but she’s been on my mind, she and her children ever since I learned of her death last week. My hope is that her children are comforted by knowing how much she loved them.
2 comments:
I am glad for you that you were able to reconnect with her before she passed. I hope your thoughts of her are peaceful and without remorse.
They are :) She was very sweet and I enjoyed having her as my SIL.
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