Sad new year news

When I got home from work (and NYEve vigil Mass) this past Monday, I had a voicemail message from my cousin, Angie. Her in-laws live here in Wichita and I was excited because I thought they might be in town for the holidays and I would get to see them.

Well, I did get to see them, but they were not necessarily here for the holidays. Angie's mother-in-law had been in a car accident Friday night. She was a passenger in a vehicle that was traveling west on Highway 50 from Newton to Hutchinson. Because of the injury she sustained to her aorta, she had surgery. Although she made it through the surgery, her organs began to shut down and she died on Saturday. Gary and Angie and their three kids drove down from Bozeman, Montana, and got here on Sunday. By the time they got here, she was already gone.

After I talked to Angie on Monday, I flashed back to the night that Angie's Mom (my Aunt Neva Ann, my Mom's oldest sister) died. Angie and Gary were living in Kansas City at the time and Angie got to the hospital in Salina after everyone but us had already gone back to her parents house. We met her in the parking lot and told her it was too late. She broke down in my Mom's arms. I knew I had to get over to see her and her family as soon as possible. I spent the evening playing cards with them and Gary's Dad, brother and sister-in-law. We had a champagne toast at midnight to ring in the new year. Shortly after that, Gary took this picture of Angie and I. You can't really tell in the picture, but I'm leaning down so we're more the same height.

My Mom and Dad and my sister, Jenny, all came into town on Tuesday and we went to the funeral Wednesday morning. It's been so good to see them, but I wish it had been different circumstances. Angie and Gary and their kids all looked so good dressed for the funeral on Wednesday that I had to take a family picture. Meet Michelle, Matthew, Rebecca, Angie and Gary. (See, everyone's taller than Angie! And she's even wearing heels in the picture.)