Dearest Friends and Family, Christmas, 2008
We marked this year with both a wedding and a funeral.
On August 31st, Angie St. Louis and Trevor Kelley officially tied the knot. The bride’s mother Jane and husband Jim were astute enough to allow the couple to make the occasion uniquely theirs. No traditional readings would have been as appropriate (or chuckle-inducing) as the frank and revealing anecdotes recounted by their closest pals from New York. All was as it should be--with their dog Emmy outfitted in a dress that matched the bridesmaids and the officiant quoting Keats. As Trevor and Angie recited their vows, (Trevor read his off his Blackberry) those of us in attendance felt like we were eavesdropping on a private conversation between the two of them—the candor and depth of their feelings for one another was quite moving.
Lillian, Jon’s strikingly beautiful mother, passed away on September 16th. Ever since an accidental fall at work six years ago and increasing troubles with her heart, her seemingly boundless energy had finally narrowed to a trickle. Eventually, a problem with shortness of breath kept her from even venturing out to shop for groceries or to pick up her mail. It was not, she would insist, the way she had envisioned her “golden years.” When an operation to replace a faulty aortic valve in her heart was proposed, she convinced her surgeon that she was ready, willing and able to tackle the difficult work necessary to achieve a full recovery, despite having celebrated an 84th birthday. Lillian literally sailed through the operation, sufficiently mobile to leave the cardiac care unit in just three days. A complication requiring emergency surgery was the last thing anybody, including her doctors, expected. Jon and Beverly miss her so much—especially around 8:00PM, the time each day when she would check in via telephone.
Jon and Beverly spent Thanksgiving in chilly Great Falls, Montana, where Nathan, Naomi and Max now share domestic bliss, courtesy of the Air Force and Naomi’s extraordinary home-making skills. Their 7 year-old grandson shoulders his “one-and-only” burden with aplomb, allowing his proud-as-punch grandparents to cheer wildly from the sidelines at athletic events, pound him with totally unnecessary questions about school, and force him to perform impromptu piano concerts at will.
Brendan has taken on a new look. He’s now sporting a full beard and longish locks. The facial hair-challenged Trevor is (the hippest shade of) green with envy. Brendan’s also got a new job. The Flood Insurance Tracking Services people at Countrywide were so impressed with his quality/productivity scores that they recruited him to their division. He cheerfully made the transfer to take a sorely needed respite from the carpal tunnel-exacerbating work he’s had to endure the past two years and, of course, more moola.
Jon, again taking his turn as mayor this month, keeps telling Beverly that he will retire from political office in two years. She doesn’t believe him. He keeps busy with his piano tuning business, flying a Cessna whenever possible, and walking the beach with his favorite Yorkie.
Beverly, who was procrastinating big time re: finishing a conference paper this summer, whiled away the time refinishing the bedroom furniture. She keeps busy juggling chair stuff (this semester only) and classes, writing her bi-weekly column for the Star, and walking the beach with her favorite Yorkie.
The best of all holiday wishes from the entire Kelley-Sharkey enchilada: Jonathan, Beverly, Nathan, Naomi, Max, Brendan, Trevor, Angie & Chloe
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