A celebration of life

 Thank you all who sent cards and messages.  I truly appreciate your prayers and condolences.

Daughter Julie, her partner Josh, and granddaughters  Rachel and Alyssa arrived Thursday evening.  It's a two-day drive from central New Hampshire.  After they checked into the hotel in Zion we had dinner at a restaurant here in the Harbor.  

We did a little touring on Friday.  The Waukegan Historical Society renovated the 1902 Carnegie library building as a museum.  It reopened earlier this month and I hadn't been to it yet. (The Carnegie was vacant for decades after the main library was built in the late 1960's.)   

I only took a couple of pictures, none at all of the exterior or the chronological displays with artifacts. (Underground railroad, early movie making, Jack Benny....)    You can see more here

The fireplace is in an upstairs reading room. The walls are lined with original bookcases FILLED with all of the books that belonged to native son Ray Bradbury. 

It was sunny, hot, and windy -- a great day to go to the beach!   "It doesn't smell right," said these New Englanders who are used to the Atlantic.  I pointed out that it is high tide all the time, too.  

"It would be great if we could see some cranes," I said as we drove out of the park.  And there they were.  

We came back home to get everything to set up at the church and went back to the church to do that.  The church women were setting up the fellowship hall for the luncheon.  (Bless Josh, the engineer, who figured out a way to get the big photo collages to stay on the easels.)  

The vistation was at 10:00 -- so many people!  The service was at 11:00 -- so many people!  Our friends Ron and Cynthia (Lake County Symphony Orchestra) provided beautiful music.  The readers were local friends (his and mine),  Words of remembrance were given by Julie, Rachel, and Alyssa, and kindergarten classmate Ann.  The Texas nieces sent a letter.  

On the right: "Dad will taste the water anywhere." And he did with no ill effects.

There were three display tables.  You can see a bit of red suspender under the Maine Potato Growers cap. Right next to that was his cane.  

My Alpha Gam chapter sisters Mari-Anne and Alex, and Alex's husband Randy, came from Missouri.   We last met in person back in 2011--far too long ago.  

Alex, Randy, and their three children visited us in Maine in 1986. I took the parents to L.L. Bean and Steve watched the kids at home. Alex said that her daughter wanted me to know that still remembers the fun they had playing with Steve.

There were many, many P.E.O. sisters, AAUW and Rotary friends but no photos.  

Saturday dinner:  at home with leftover chicken and sides from the luncheon.   Sunday morning: I went to church, they slept in.  Josh and Julie met one of his cousins for lunch in another town.  Rachel and Alyssa spent the afternoon sorting a huge stack of Stevens and Woods family photos from the 19th and early 20th century. They identified everyone and scanned all the pictures.  

As is the case with many (most?) families, one side is far more extensively documented than the other.

Waukegan's famous pizza place, the Quonset, opened in 1946.  I had never been there.  Now we all have. (And the pizza is really good.) 

A last photo.  We joke that Julie got my dimples and Rachel got my curly hair. (We are not biologically related.) 

I spent Tuesday writing thank you notes.  Three to go.  My mother would be so pleased with me.  

 And, yes, of course I am sewing. But that's for later this week.