October 2007 While at Mont-St. Michel the news reached me that my mother had fallen & broken her hip. The operation to replace the head of her femur went well, and during the remainder of my stay in Europe opportunities arose to pray for her well-being in many other sacred spaces as well, most particularly at the Sanctuary of the Trinity above the town of Ghiffa, on the banks of Lago Maggiore; in Assisi; and at the Sanctuary of La Verna. Though weak she seemed to be recovering well, under my sister’s care & guidance, until her many days of being bedridden eventually took their toll. She left this world at almost the precise moment that I reached her bedside on my return from the East, on the evening of October 12.

The next days were filled with the usual funereal details, and with person after person making a point of letting my sister & me know that Miss Laura had been the sweetest person they had ever met. The actual funeral was for me most notable for her pastor’s electing to use to illustrate his homily a photo of the Sea of Galilee, without his knowing that this was the spot she liked best during our family tour of Israel. She now rests in the Floresville cemetery under the spreading oak tree that shades her husband and parents, her brothers and their wives, and a nephew, and that will eventually shade my sister as well. Rest in peace, Miss Laura!

Link to News of the Past