It's with heavy heart that I stand before you today. Not only have I lost my Mom but I lost my Best Friend too!
I feel as though we have grown up together. In a way, we did! My Mom was only 15 & my Dad 21, when they eloped to Georgia from Florida. In their 55 year marriage, there were more memories in a week than some couples will have in a year. Their love for each other was stronger than any two people I know. I thank GOD for giving me all the wonderful memories too.
I'll never forget the look on my Mama's face when I came home with the Army Recruiter & said, 'Hey, guess what Mom? I enlisted in the Army, oh yeah & I'm going to Airborne School & I'm gonna be assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division! Pretty cool huh! And I don't have to cut my hair'.'
She said, 'You're Gonna do What!!'
That was in 1988. By Aug 8, 1990, I was in the Gulf War. Back home in Florida, my Mom started a 'Desert Moms', to support the troops deployed during Operation Desert Shield Desert. This support group got recognition from not only local news channels, but from ABC, CNN, MSNBC, to name a few.
My Mom even wrote the President of the United States of America. Now who's Mom does that? And you know what, President Bush wrote her back. Even he knew a good person!
I met my future husband soon after I returned from the Gulf. I brought him home to meet my parents. If you knew my Mom-then you knew she was the McGuyer in the kitchen. You could give her a box of crackers, a bag of flour & chicken broth & she could make a (7) course meal out of it. You could give me a (7) course meal already prepared and tell me to put it in the microwave for 3 minutes & I would mess it up. It's obvious that Brian & I didn't marry for my cooking skills. My Mom was the Master Hostess!
If you had the pleasure to come to my parent's home- you were never disappointed with a meal, followed by entertainment downstairs in their gameroom - shooting pool or darts, playing Wii, watching movies or football games on the Big Screen. Her smile could light up the darkest room.
Her laughter always attracted a crowd. She was a woman of many talents. I would watch her cut out a pattern to an outfit, have it stick-pinned together, get up early, sew it together & wear it to work. No, I didn't learn this skill either. I can barely sew on a button.
One hobby my Mom enjoyed more than anything in the world was crocheting. I can see all the heads nodding out there. I don't think there's a person in Blairsville that doesn't have a hat & scarf combo made by my Mom.
She called her creations 'Heavenly Hats.' She always wore them to her appointments & would sit there crocheting while getting treatments. Even then she was the center of attention. All the doctors, nurses and assistants that cared for her will stay warm this winter thanks to my Mom. I know she will always have a special place in their hearts too, as she does in all of ours. Oh I forgot to tell you-she taught me how to crochet (2) years ago-Now I can do that!
There are so many great memories I could go on to tell you about my Mom. If you want to know more about what a wonderful woman Mom was, please feel free to come over to my parent's home. The walls speak for themselves. Or if your are ever in my neck of the woods, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, wear you mucking boots, there's always lots of farm work. You can meet 'Judy's Jewel', prettiest little filly born on my farm last year, I named after my Mom. She was so proud of that foal & I was so very happy she got to see her.
Poem: by Henry David Thoreau I went to the woods because I wished to love deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
My Mom lived life to the fullest. Thanks to my amazing Dad, who stayed by her side & helped her complete her journey. I Love you Dad.

Robin Stancil Berry, daughter