Stewart
It's hard to say what I will miss most about Aunt Betty. Even in these latter years when our paths didn't cross all that often I still retained very comforting memories of her laugh, and her bright-eyed delight in the act of being amused.She knew something, about how to graciously accept whatever life offered, and to look like she was enjoying the adventure. The time we saw each other most, the time I powerfully associate with my fondness for her, was when our family lived in Farmer's Branch in the early '60s. The memories that make up that sense of utter security for me could go on and on: fried okra fresh from the garden, the inimitable Aunt Betty salad, puzzles and books and all manner of fascinating and cool hand-me-alongs from her inquisitive and talented family…if she could be said to have kept us kids on any kind of leash at all, it was a long and loose one, making us feel like she trusted us to use our heads and make good choices, and by so doing, feel like we were, if not exactly grown up, certainly about where we ought to be on the maturity spectrum. Maybe that was it- Betty seemed like she trusted the world to do right by her, and that gentle smile of hers showed that this trust of hers was rewarded, in a way that she managed to get to benefit us all. She allowed us to be just a little bit cheeky, in a way that nurtured our creativity, that gift of effortlessly letting us sense where the boundaries were, without any hint of being righteous or condescending. To me, it was obvious that she was, above all, a kind human being, one who brought that out in lots of folks around her. May you rest easy Betty. Your nephew, Stewart