Goodbye Aunt Ann

This week I received a email from my father saying that my Aunt Ann DeVries had died.
I knew she was weakening in life but did not know she was in a hospice praying for the day that Jesus took her hand and took her home to heaven. Typical DeVries communication. This had the usual sad moment in my busy life and then it went on to worrying about my job and Hazel's job and raising the kids. Later I had time to travel down memory lane and think about my past relationship with my Aunt. The first thing that I recalled was how way back in Orange City Iowa (go Hawkeyes) was the beginning of my earliest memories. Aunt Ann lived down the street or streets and was the only close relative we had. My best memory is that on a few Saturdays she would bring me to Unity Christian High School and open up the gym door and let me shoot baskets for awhile. She was my local Grandma and always had a gift for me on birthdays and Christmas. After we moved to Byron Center Michigan I am not sure what road she traveled.
The next prominent memory is going to Ft Lauderdale Florida and visiting her there. I had the experience of going on one of those boats with big propeller on the back and visiting some of the Florida tourist traps. This is also the first time I tried skateboarding. Not a great experience for a big clumsy dutch kid. I guess this is my memories as a youth. Kind of sad I think. After that I was busy going to junior high and high school and then college and the rest of my life. I believe that all I knew of Aunt Ann during that period is that she was in Arizona. Probably wearing some rainbow shades. I know through doing taxes that she relocated to Cadillac and was with my Uncle Bert. The DeVries family has kind of went their separate ways and if it wasn't for facebook I wouldn't know squat about what is shaking the family tree. And this is also just as much my fault for not paying attention or being involved in any family functions. It started me thinking about some of my other cousins and what was happening in their lives. I guess I should go to the funeral and find out. That would be a great place to start. Anyway I know that my Aunt Ann is in heaven and hopefully talking to my mom about her two newest grandchildren and how darn cute they are. I just wish I had a little more story o tell.