Mom

Yesterday morning, my mother, Catherine Calder, passed away.

Although she was being treated for something at the time, I think it was all her health problems of the last few years finally coming together at once.

She was a Head Start teacher’s aide for roughly 25 years. I once calculated she had approximately 1,500 students in that time, in a town of only 17,000 people. You couldn’t step foot on the porch or out of the house without some young person coming up to hug her or say hello.

She deeply involved with her faith, her church, and her family. When I saw her less than 2 weeks ago, at a family reunion, she was still talking about working on church projects.

I’ve always felt like I was lucky enough to inherit the best traits of both my parents. And my mother has left me with compassion, optimism, creativity, and a good moral compass.

There will be calling hours (10am) and a memorial service (11am) for her at the 1st UMC in her home town, this coming Tuesday.