Tuesday, August 13, 2024
My earliest memory of Jean was walking to her apartment in a three-story tenement, a few blocks from our house on Western Avenue in Lynn. When I walked in her door, and felt the warmth with which she greeted my Mom and I, I knew we were loved and part of her family. She understood me from an early age.
She was my Mom‘s best friend and a force for good in her life, and in the life of our family. Their decades-long friendship was a picture of devotion and care for one another. I would listen to them talk on the phone for hours, and didn’t realize that I was being taught the meaning and value of a lasting, loving friendship.
I love that woman, and her deep understanding of people and their motivations.
My heart goes out to her beautiful family. This is the end of her life on earth, and she will be sorely missed, but it is also a beginning. I so look forward to spending eternity with her in heaven. We will sip limoncellos and perhaps reminisce, but knowing Jean, she will steer the conversation to the deeper meanings of a glorious future in Jesus Christ.
