Mom's Eulogy

Hey, this was the eulogy for my mom. I actually said all this on July 10, and July 11, 2013.

Generous. Warm. Stubborn. Gregarious. Hospitable, strong willed, creative,  opinionated, witty. Just a few words describing our mom, our sister, our Aunt Elaine.  I never could figure out why you got to call her Auntie  Lane. Why did you all get to call her Lane when everybody else called her Elaine?

You’re never ready for this. Even when your mom is 90, you never are ready for this day.  

In 1945 our mother, Elaine Jeannette Jaquish Kroh, graduated from Mansfield and took a job as a Home Economist in Clarion County in western PA.  On her way to Clarion she remembered  stopping on the road in Kyttle to allow a huge porcupine to cross.  

She boarded with Mr and Mrs Conley and their daughter Jane introduced her to Jack Kroh. Jane was dating Jack’s brother Dick. Later Jane became Mrs Dick Kroh and our mom became Mrs Jack Kroh on May 18 1950.  Leslee, Judy and Jack, were their children. Elaine and Jack lived at 207 7^th Ave. in Clarion for all their married life. 

When I was growing up it took years for me to figure out that Aunt Jo’s yard next door wasn’t just an extension of our yard. The Kroh’s always had family birthday parties  and I thought it was pretty cool to celebrate with my Mom, my cousin Jeanie and my Aunt Jean, the other Feb. birthdays.

When the Jaquish’s had a party all the girl cousins slept in the back bedroom. I remember pounding on the floor of the bedroom pleading with my mother and her brothers and sisters in the kitchen below to please shut up and let us sleep. They did when they were good and ready. 

She came to every play even though I was only in the chours and every horse show even though she was afraid of good old Silver. She came to the Clarion County fair and took all us horse kids out for lunch only she made us roll down the windows of the station wagon. I guess we smelled like horses.  She brought us ice cream cone cupcakes  before they were popular. She claimed she invented them even. She put up with a lot of slumber parties, and drove us wherever we wanted to go especially to Tunkhannock. 

My mom could really sew.  She made my wedding dress, and the dresses for most of my bride’s maids.  She looked at Barbie’s wedding dress and then made me the dress of my dreams. And everybody has a dish cloth or two that she made.

There is one more story then I’ll turn it over to Judy and Jack and all the rest of you. Please be thinking of an Aunt Elaine story you’d like to tell.  My friend Kathy and I were at Judy’s taking mom home to her nursing home.  We started talking about heaven and my mom said she was a good person .  We know that that is not the way we gain entrance to heaven.  We must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I mean we must be friends with Him, like a son or a daughter is friends with a parent. Coming into God’s family is done by prayer, by talking to Him and asking for His entrance. The benefit is a more full and rich abundant life. 

So, getting back to my story. Kathy said, “Well Elaine, I’m going to pray a prayer of salvation and if you agree with me just say amen at the end.”

Driving along I stayed silent, thinking to myself that this would never work.  But Kathy prayed and mom said Amen.  Two weeks later she broke her hip and I came back down to Lewisburg to be with her and help Judy.  I was alone with her in the hospital room when the chaplain came in. 

I thought good I’ll let him talk to her about heaven.  On my prompting the chaplain said, “So Elaine, are you going to heaven?”

Mom said, “yes.”

The chaplain said, “Why do you think that?”

Mom said, “Because Jesus said I could.”

I almost fell off my chair. After that day we noticed Mom did change and become an encourager to the other folks in the nursing home.  She became more mellow and happier and we believe that is a change God made in her as a result of her entrance into his family.

So we are sure she is in heaven now with our Dad and others. 

 Now that mom can play bridge again, I suppose she and her brother John R. are partners and I would suppose that there might be two other bridge players up there to make up a hand of bridge.

Now Judy and Jack will speak, so please be thinking of a brief  Aunt Elaine, Grandma, or sister story you could tell. (and a whole lot of people talked. If you have a memory of my mom go ahead and post it to me! Thanks. Love you all)