My first memories of Aunt Helene were of the big, laughter
filled woman whose red lipstick and need to kiss us made my brothers and I try
to hide whenever she came into the house. It was no use, Mom and Dad would make
us line up and accept our torment. And every Christmas we would always
graciously accept our new ugly sweater…...
I was very young when I first got to see Helene and Rosemary
together and I assumed my Dad was kidding when he said they were twins. I asked
everyone if that was true and of course they all said it was…but this was my
family….the Mooney family…. I couldn’t actually believe them, right? Well it is
true of course, and I cherish the few days when I got to see all of those
Mooney kids together, my Dad, Uncle Bill, Rosemary, and Helene; it let me know
how a family is supposed to act when they get together. Good natured ribbing, a generous portion of
sarcasm, and a whole lot of laughter.
Through grade school I was fortunate enough to be able to
visit with Aunt Helen often. I would
stop by her house on school days to visit with her and Granny Kate for lunch (peanut
butter and GRAPE jelly only please) or cookies and milk after school. I rarely stayed for dinner… I’m sure that Aunt
Helene cooked some things well but I never did discover what it was that kept
Uncle Frank’s belly full.
Years at The Club brought all of us the joy of watching
those “whacky adults” as she referred to herself and her friends singing and
having a great time at Clubhouse parties.
Aunt Helene loved to laugh, she loved to sing, and she loved being with
friends and family. And for some odd
reason, she always loved beer in a can. Whenever I would go to visit her at
Holy Redeemer I would always ask if there was anything I could bring and she
more often than not would ask for a beer – in a can. I can’t say that I always felt comfortable
when the orderlies – the pushers as she called them, would notice the obvious 6
pack I was bringing for my visit.
I had a part time job through high school at Fluehr’s and
you would think working at a Funeral Home might stifle some of the laughter in
her. No way…. Thanks to her laughter
coming from the office throughout the day that was the happiest funeral home in
the World. I guess she and Mary got a
lot of work done to keep that place running, but they sure seemed to have a
good time doing so.
After I moved to Florida, I didn’t get to visit her as often
but called every now and then to see how she was doing. No matter how she was doing she would always
tell me that she was good enough to keep laughing and as long as she could keep
doing that she would stick around. Well a few weeks ago during our last
conversation, the laughter was gone so I knew her time was near.
She is in a better place now, surrounded by more friends and
family than many of us care to think about. And I’m sure that she is laughing once
again. I’m even willing to bet that a
little bit of miraculous intervention has her actually playing the banjo,
organ, ukulele, and whatever other instruments Uncle Frank bought for her – and playing
them well enough that the angels might actually recognize the tune. And those lucky angels, they have a willing
new member of the Heavenly Sweet Adelines and I’m guessing they are rehearsing
Heart of My Heart or some song that ends with broad smiles are a heartfelt
laugh.
We miss you Aunt Helene, but we will keep laughing for you!
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