Friend

Yesterday was a very sad day. I went to the funeral of David's "other mother", Maxine. Maxine was such a wonderful woman and touched the lives of so many people. I have been to many funerals, and I don't think I've ever been to one with more people there to pay their respects.

I got to adopt Maxine when I married into the Prescott family. I consider myself pretty lucky. David and his brothers were like brothers with Maxine's boys. She babysat Andrea's kids when they were little, so she was like a Grandma to those boys.

Here are some of the things I can tell you about Maxine:

• she was an amazing cook
• she was a dear friend
• she was a terrific seamstress
• she would be there for you no matter what
• she would loan out anything she had to anybody (and she had a lot of stuff)
• she had a bigger heart than anybody I know

David and the boys used to have a tradition on Mother's Day. They would make his mom, my mom, and Maxine breakfast and deliver it to them all as breakfast in bed (or out in some cases), because they were all his moms. When she had things around the house that needed to be fixed, he was the one she called - just like his other moms:)

Since her passing last week, I have run across a few things that I use frequently and thought, "Maxine made this for me". She also put on our whole wedding reception for us. She worked so hard and I will always be thankful to her for that. When my dad died, she helped me with the food for the funeral luncheon. When her mom died, we talked about the sadness of losing a parent and how lonely we were without seeing that person often.

My heart goes out to her family and the sadness they feel at this time. A few days before Maxine passed away, her brother died. Her dad left the day of her death to go out of state to another child's funeral. A few months ago another brother and sister-in-law died. They have had their share of grief for a long time! It is so sad to have that loss, but wonderful to know that they are all together now, and we will all see her again. But until then, Maxine, you will be missed tremendously. I know you touched my life, and I hope I can be even part of the kind of person you were.