Before my auntie Faye passed away in May, she voiced her wishes that our family come together in the presence of my grandmother in Las Vegas rather than at a funeral or memorial in Florida where she lived. She always said that when she and my uncle got married, my grandmother welcomed her into our family with loving arms and became her new family. With her wishes known, we all gathered together for a mega family reunion over this long weekend.
Before I recap the weekend, I want to highlight some photos from the archives that show her as I remember her.
Here she is with my cousins, Dean and Leslie around 1982
and again with my parents and my uncle in 1997.
Though my aunt passed away May 30, 2017, our first opportunity to convene for family reunion and memorial mass was this weekend. As many of us that could traveled to Henderson, Nevada where my grandmother lives with my aunt and her partner, Spencer. Being together was like old times. Even though it had been years since I had seen my uncle and cousins, it was as comfortable as ever.
I traveled out on Thursday and was greeted at the airport by this munchkin.
She was one of several little girls who stole my heart.
Friday morning we mustered bright and early for rosary and mass at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Afterwards, we lingered in the prayer garden, a venue my aunt, an avid gardener, would have loved.
You have to look for me in the background of these photos. I was there; I promise.
After the mass, we had breakfast at Black Bear Diner. The food was good and the portions were huge. They easily accommodated our group and didn’t seem to mind that we were such a big party.
We returned to Renee’s house and, just like old times, we all sat around outside in patio chairs and told stories.
I was really impressed with how well my nieces did entertaining themselves and napping on the go. Kendra, sitting between Frankie and Sophia, was just a gem. She is Dean’s daughter and this was our first time meeting her. She warmed up to our group like she had known us forever.
In the middle of the afternoon, I sneaked away with my mom to a lovely shop.
Saturday afternoon we celebrated my aunt Renee’s birthday with a catered lunch and treats and then went to the evening vigil Mass. Being the strong catholic example that she always has been, attending mass with my grandma was heartwarming and extremely special.
Here is one of the highlights of the trip: the cousins photo.
We have grown up a wee bit.
We never got everyone all in the same photo but through overlapping a few, I believe everyone was represented.
I hated to say goodbye to my grandma on Saturday night.
Sunday morning before my flight home, I had a really nice conversation with my uncle and my dad. It was great to all stay at the same hotel. It gave us the opportunity to have chance meetings at breakfast and spontaneous pajama parties in the evening. I must say this was just the kind of weekend my auntie Faye would have wanted us to have, save the sickness that Dean suffered from most of the weekend. It was filled with lots of love, lots of stories and lots of time being together. Here’s hoping we can do it again soon.
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