Barb

The 24th of this month in 1936 my sister Barbara was born. My sister died 13th of January 1998. If she were alive she’d be 73 years old. Christmas Eve 1998 was the last time we were together as a family. She left behind a son she loved dearly and all the rest of her family. I was sitting here thinking about her and what she was like when she was alive and what she had to go through. For months she was ill and no one knew it. She kept the secret until she got so sick it was obvious. When her family did discover she was ill, they took her to the hospital. But it was too late. The doctors discovered she needed an operation for her gall bladder. But during surgery, the surgeon found that she had liver cancer. The cancer had spread through her body.

A few days before she died we went to visit her in the hospital. She asked my Mother to rub her back because she was in pain. After a few moments she told Mom that was enough. Then she turned her face away and smiled. We assumed she had fallen asleep. But as we drove home, my brother Don received a call on his cell phone that she’d passed away. I believe when she turned her face away and smiled, that was her last moments.

Barbara loved to write silly poetry and songs. I remember the times we’d write the silly poetry together and giggle. One poem was called ‘Teacher’s Pet’. It was about a teacher that gave her a failing grade. I remember the times we got into mischief together and when we sang together as children. When we were children we sang at Christmas programs in our school. Once, we even sang on the radio in Fort Smith Arkansas where we’d both been taking music lessons at a music school. The school was run by a man named Mr. Bennett.

Barbara was generous with everything she had. If she had money, she’d buy members of her family something even if she was low on funds herself. She never had enough money, but always thought of someone else. There were many times her electric, water and gas was turned off because she didn’t have money to pay the bills. She walked the streets hunting work with very little success. Sometimes, in desperation she’d practically camp on a prospective employer’s doorstep demanding a job. But there were very few jobs in our small town and when she did get work, it wouldn’t last long. So she was always having to seek employment.