Patricia Ann Donnelly
Patricia Ann Donnelly
04/07/41 - 10/19/05
A Wife, A Mother, A Friend.
How does one sum up a lifetime of love and memories in just a few short moments. I'm certain that it's nearly impossible, but I'm sure if Mom was here, she'd try. We four boys tried to come up with something to do her proud.
Anyone that knew Mom, knew her affinity for telephonic communication. A fact to which both Uncle Joe and Uncle Ralph will most assuredly attest.
We recall the stories of Mom's marathon telephone conversations with Aunt Mary and Aunt Karen. They are indelibly etched in our minds forever.
As a matter of fact, if you will recall, both the house in Carmel, and the house in Greenport had cords on the phones that were about 90 feet long. She had to be able to move ANYWHERE in the house without putting the phone down. Eventually, the corded phones were replaced with cordless phones, making it a free chatter zone anywhere in the house. Mom was in her bliss.
Maybe we were supposed to derive a lesson out of that little story that I can impart to you in order to make this eulogy sound real nice, but to be honest, we were at a loss there. We just thought that it was a funny story about Mom and wanted to share it.
Anybody that knew Mom, knew that she could be really funny when she wanted to be. If you look at the pictures over on the table, you'll notice that one with her and the big red glasses. Yeah, that was typical Mom. She'd get a hold of something, and off she'd go. Perhaps the thing that made her so funny, was the way she'd surprise you with it. We boys would be clowning around, and next thing we'd know, Mom would be right in the mix, yukking it up with us. One time she found a pair of Groucho Marx glasses that Bruce had. Just cheap, plastic Halloween glasses. Nothing special. Well, he had his girlfriend at the house, and didn't want to be bothered...Mothers tend to cramp a teenage boys style with the girls...so Bruce and his girlfriend went outside in the yard. Next thing you know, she's hanging out the front door, off the porch singing to them. I can't begin to tell you how badly she sang, or how embarassed Bruce felt thinking that the neighbors might be watching. She was a funny girl. A real good kid.
We learned a lot of things from her. We learned how to laugh....she gave us plenty of ammo.
Like the time she went "slideways" down the driveway. Yeah, she was constantly mixing her metaphors, which was absolute hilarity. She pretended that it bothered her when we teased, but she loved every minute of it. We teased her about "soder" and "bananers" and “bottels”. She loved that almost as much as when we'd show her our food. She really hated that at first, but learned to give it back....usually in front of our girlfriends.
We learned about being strong.
Our mom was always strong. She fought all our lives with illness. So much so that she missed a few major events in our lives. We recall having to spend one such occasion in the Hospital parking lot waving to mom in her hospital room window. I couldn’t tell you how devastated she was by that. Or the fact that she was forced to miss Robert and Jill’s wedding. A bigger regret in her life, you’d be hard pressed to find.
But Mom was more than that. She was the kind of strength that picks you up when you fail. When we’d do something we were sure would set her off, it generally wound up with her giving words of encouragement. She got mad, don’t get me wrong. She would let you know when you were out of line. But she always made sure that you knew she was there for you.
If there was something that you were sure would disappoint her, the worst feeling on earth, she would be disappointed, and forgive you in a matter of minutes. And we gave her plenty of opportunities to disappoint her. How many Norman Rockwell figurines did we break? Sorry Mom. Sorry Dad.
But Mom’s strength was a strength of love. She and Dad gave us a solid foundation. They were a perfect match for each other and we were a good fit for them. We never were what you’d call rich or wealthy. Heck, there were a few times you’d barely call us solvent. But Mom and Dad always gave us the things that mattered most. A sense of love and caring and family and safety and a billion other things that made our lives good. Mom never did anything that would get her into the history books, but she accomplished something that was spectacular. She raised four Donnelly boys and made them good men.
Her love was unconditional. It didn't matter how mad at you she'd get. She could be steaming mad, she'd come and say goodnight. She never wanted to go to bed angry. Her thinking was that you might not live to take it back. We’re thankful that we had a chance to apologize for things. We know we were on happy terms at the end. Not that we hadn't been otherwise.
We learned about respect, and dignity, and she taught us how to be gentlemen.
I think that it gave her a lot of pleasure when people came up to her and told her what gentlemen her sons were. That was a source of very deep pride for her.
Yes, we learned many things from Mom. Too many to name without breaking down.
We are good men because of her and Dad. Of that we feel confident. There are so many things that I could say about her, but who can sum up 40 years of gratitude in just a few short lines. Suffice it to say that the woman who gave us life, and made it something special, went to Heaven knowing how much we loved and appreciated her. She went away knowing that because she was such a wonderful Mother, Friend and Teacher to us, that we will be able to take care of ourselves, and most especially, her precious Grandchildren....her Legacy.
And for that reason, she went to heaven with a smile on her face.
Mom....we love you....always have, always will. We Love You, We Love You, We Love You!!!! We will miss you Mom.
Rest in Peace Dear Sweet Angel. Thank you for everything.
posted by Rob @ 11:42 AM
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