Tuesday, February 12, 2019
I remember my Aunt Noreen as a beautiful, vibrant woman who had a wonderful laugh and a sparkle in her eye. She was an entrepreneur in her younger days, and I remember her working in her N.Y.C. store, 'People's Pants'. It was quite an impressive enterprise, and my aunt worked with pep and zeal to make it a success.
Noreen was a devoted sister who traveled halfway across the country to help my Mom by babysitting her four children if she ever needed to travel with my Dad. She was the one who picked me up at school after I broke my collarbone during recess in First Grade. She nursed and comforted me.
As a child, I remember that my Mom and her sister sent each other a stainless steel box, wrapped with heavy duty black fabric fasteners, containing evening clothes. One sister lived in New Jersey; the other lived in Indiana. They swapped clothes via this box. I remember thinking how nice it was that they shared what they had with each other. It truly was a 'VOGUE' example of sisterhood, and both Noreen and my Mom had a great sense of style!
In her later years, Noreen sent my Mom a bouquet of gorgeous flowers every month. My Mom would tell her that it was too extravagant a gesture and to save her money, but the flowers would arrive like clockwork regardless. Noreen loved deeply; she was loyal and true. Imagine a world without flowers: that is what a world without Noreen means for our family.
