102 Years and 9 Months

by Dorinda Sparacio

That is how long my Aunt Dora Minnefor lived on this great earth. In the early morning hours of April 1st she passed into the loving arms of God. She was an incredible woman,she was independent yet was always there at any time to help others . She was my father's sister . When my mother passed away when I was five years old my dad didn't even ask her, Aunt Dora just moved in. She took wonderful care of my sisters Melabee and Roberta and I.

A few years ago Aunt Dora went through the stage where she told everyone not to buy her gifts for anything- not birthday gifts - no mother's day gifts - no Easter gifts - no Christmas gifts. As we were looking through her address book yesterday I came across something I wrote to Aunt Dora for her birthday when she didn't want a gift. I had forgot about it until I opened the paper. It holds true today!

Dear Aunt Dora ,

I promised not to buy you a gift but I wanted to share these thoughts with you.

Your Gift To Me

While making gravy,

Working outside the home,

Or taking care of those you love,

You showed how all these things are done

With never a complaint.

Gladly sharing stories of how things used to be

And using them to show us how to be

The best that we could be.

I only hope that I can share with others

What you have shared with me-

Simple acts, yet precious gifts

Forever in my heart.

Happy Birthday !!!!

Love, Dorinda

Every Day is a Blessing! For the past 55 years I have been blessed by the guiding hand and love of Aunt Dora.