It is w/a very heavy heart that I add this memorial for my best friend,my "adopted" Mom,Mary.McGibbon.She passed away early this morning w/her family by her side.I'm adding this memorial for her but leaving it as is because I'll transfer it to one of her daughters later.
I'll love & miss you forever Mary...
Mary Theresa (McGibbon) Bevilacqua's eulogy given on May 20, 2013 at Fort Snelling where our Mother was interred with honors.
Céad míle fáilte romhat!
(A hundred thousand welcomes to you)
"On behalf of our family-my sisters, Bridget and Mitzie; Angel, my husband, Jim and Mary's grandchildren-Matthew, Daniel, Sarah, Erika and Caleb. We would like to thank all of our Mother's family and friends for being here today to celebrate her life and to mourn her death. I'm sure she would have been thrilled to see all of you here and I know it would have meant the world to her.
When my sisters asked that I speak on behalf of our Mother I actually looked forward to this honor...one last time that I can give something to our Mom who gave so much to us girls throughout our lives. I was eager to do so, but, quite honestly, I struggled with the words. What can I say to, and about, a Mom who worked hard, was always there, someone you could always count on and showed us that we were never abandoned? Nothing mattered to our Mom but to make sure that her girls were together, safe and loved.
Mom was a feisty, high-spirited little Irish ball of fire. She loved to talk with anyone. She couldn't go into a gas station without chatting up the clerks. She was opinionated and let you know her opinion whether you liked it or not. She had guts, integrity, and loved fiercely.
Sure I can tell you about.....
-Breaking her finger playing ball with us girls, not once, but several times.
-Teaching us girls how to twirl a baton.
-The Dale Street house and how she was one of the first women in St. paul to get a mortgage and own a home.
-That she was one of the first female mail carriers in St. Paul, Minnesota.
-How she used to "monitor" our high school parties by patrolling the outside of the house just as our friends would toss a beer through the basement window.
-How she and Dad would sit through "screeching fests" with us girls.
-How she loved her pups; Prince, Betsy, kelly, Mulligan, Finnegan, Sean, Ryan, Dooley, DELANEY, and most recently, Bailey and Shawnie.
-How she loved her Husband, Patrick.
-How she loved her grandchildren, Matthew, Daniel, and Sarah.
-How she loved her "new" grandchildren, Erika and Caleb.
-How she loved the people her children loved, Jim and Angel.
-How she loved us, Mary Theresa, Bridget, Mitzie, and her little quardian angel, Stephanie.
-How she loved all of you, sister, Pat, special cousin, Judy, and all her nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends.
-To her grandchildren, make your grandma proud...and you all know what that means individually.
Everything good that is in me. my sisters, Bridget and Mitzie, came wholly or in part from Mom. She taught us to love and to give. She taught us the value of hard work and dedication to our passions, to travel our own path courageously. She taught us the value of every human and animal life, regardless of how meek or downtradden. We are the women we are today because of our Mother. Mom's legacy is not the tangible things she left. We are her legacy.
As for us, it is hard. It is hard to be left behind. It is hard to be the ones who stay. And it is okay to admit that it is hard. Telling you how hard this is for us brings us together in honoring her, even if we must do it in short and simple words.
We call to her by her name....
MARY MARGARET CAROLINE BERNADETTE SCHAUER MCGIBBON
We LOVE her, and she LOVED us.
As our Mother taught us to be strong, she expects us to carry one, and so we will. We will be okay. WE will fill up again. But for now, the well is dry, and the buckets come back up, empty. Now there is no quiet where we are. Now we scout our hearts.
Thank you all for the love and frienship you gave her. Thank you for coming here, today, to say goodbye. Ou Mother, Mary, is not in pain anymore, and for that, I am glad. She is on her way to heaven to be with our Dad, Patrick, our grandmother, Florence Schauer, her brothers, Jack and Norman, brother-in-law, Swede, and her beloved daughter, Stephanie of whom not a day went by that Mom didn't pray and think about.
I'd like to leave you all with this quote by Helen Keller;
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."
If, by the end of her life, our Mother ended up touching your hearts, then what else can one ask for in this world but to touch people's hearts?
Please, all of you who can do so, go home and hug your Mothers.
Rath Dé ort! (The Grace of God be with you.)
Thank you, MOM.
I'll love & miss you forever Mary...
Mary Theresa (McGibbon) Bevilacqua's eulogy given on May 20, 2013 at Fort Snelling where our Mother was interred with honors.
Céad míle fáilte romhat!
(A hundred thousand welcomes to you)
"On behalf of our family-my sisters, Bridget and Mitzie; Angel, my husband, Jim and Mary's grandchildren-Matthew, Daniel, Sarah, Erika and Caleb. We would like to thank all of our Mother's family and friends for being here today to celebrate her life and to mourn her death. I'm sure she would have been thrilled to see all of you here and I know it would have meant the world to her.
When my sisters asked that I speak on behalf of our Mother I actually looked forward to this honor...one last time that I can give something to our Mom who gave so much to us girls throughout our lives. I was eager to do so, but, quite honestly, I struggled with the words. What can I say to, and about, a Mom who worked hard, was always there, someone you could always count on and showed us that we were never abandoned? Nothing mattered to our Mom but to make sure that her girls were together, safe and loved.
Mom was a feisty, high-spirited little Irish ball of fire. She loved to talk with anyone. She couldn't go into a gas station without chatting up the clerks. She was opinionated and let you know her opinion whether you liked it or not. She had guts, integrity, and loved fiercely.
Sure I can tell you about.....
-Breaking her finger playing ball with us girls, not once, but several times.
-Teaching us girls how to twirl a baton.
-The Dale Street house and how she was one of the first women in St. paul to get a mortgage and own a home.
-That she was one of the first female mail carriers in St. Paul, Minnesota.
-How she used to "monitor" our high school parties by patrolling the outside of the house just as our friends would toss a beer through the basement window.
-How she and Dad would sit through "screeching fests" with us girls.
-How she loved her pups; Prince, Betsy, kelly, Mulligan, Finnegan, Sean, Ryan, Dooley, DELANEY, and most recently, Bailey and Shawnie.
-How she loved her Husband, Patrick.
-How she loved her grandchildren, Matthew, Daniel, and Sarah.
-How she loved her "new" grandchildren, Erika and Caleb.
-How she loved the people her children loved, Jim and Angel.
-How she loved us, Mary Theresa, Bridget, Mitzie, and her little quardian angel, Stephanie.
-How she loved all of you, sister, Pat, special cousin, Judy, and all her nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends.
-To her grandchildren, make your grandma proud...and you all know what that means individually.
Everything good that is in me. my sisters, Bridget and Mitzie, came wholly or in part from Mom. She taught us to love and to give. She taught us the value of hard work and dedication to our passions, to travel our own path courageously. She taught us the value of every human and animal life, regardless of how meek or downtradden. We are the women we are today because of our Mother. Mom's legacy is not the tangible things she left. We are her legacy.
As for us, it is hard. It is hard to be left behind. It is hard to be the ones who stay. And it is okay to admit that it is hard. Telling you how hard this is for us brings us together in honoring her, even if we must do it in short and simple words.
We call to her by her name....
MARY MARGARET CAROLINE BERNADETTE SCHAUER MCGIBBON
We LOVE her, and she LOVED us.
As our Mother taught us to be strong, she expects us to carry one, and so we will. We will be okay. WE will fill up again. But for now, the well is dry, and the buckets come back up, empty. Now there is no quiet where we are. Now we scout our hearts.
Thank you all for the love and frienship you gave her. Thank you for coming here, today, to say goodbye. Ou Mother, Mary, is not in pain anymore, and for that, I am glad. She is on her way to heaven to be with our Dad, Patrick, our grandmother, Florence Schauer, her brothers, Jack and Norman, brother-in-law, Swede, and her beloved daughter, Stephanie of whom not a day went by that Mom didn't pray and think about.
I'd like to leave you all with this quote by Helen Keller;
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."
If, by the end of her life, our Mother ended up touching your hearts, then what else can one ask for in this world but to touch people's hearts?
Please, all of you who can do so, go home and hug your Mothers.
Rath Dé ort! (The Grace of God be with you.)
Thank you, MOM.
It is w/a very heavy heart that I add this memorial for my best friend,my "adopted" Mom,Mary.McGibbon.She passed away early this morning w/her family by her side.I'm adding this memorial for her but leaving it as is because I'll transfer it to one of her daughters later.
I'll love & miss you forever Mary...
Mary Theresa (McGibbon) Bevilacqua's eulogy given on May 20, 2013 at Fort Snelling where our Mother was interred with honors.
Céad míle fáilte romhat!
(A hundred thousand welcomes to you)
"On behalf of our family-my sisters, Bridget and Mitzie; Angel, my husband, Jim and Mary's grandchildren-Matthew, Daniel, Sarah, Erika and Caleb. We would like to thank all of our Mother's family and friends for being here today to celebrate her life and to mourn her death. I'm sure she would have been thrilled to see all of you here and I know it would have meant the world to her.
When my sisters asked that I speak on behalf of our Mother I actually looked forward to this honor...one last time that I can give something to our Mom who gave so much to us girls throughout our lives. I was eager to do so, but, quite honestly, I struggled with the words. What can I say to, and about, a Mom who worked hard, was always there, someone you could always count on and showed us that we were never abandoned? Nothing mattered to our Mom but to make sure that her girls were together, safe and loved.
Mom was a feisty, high-spirited little Irish ball of fire. She loved to talk with anyone. She couldn't go into a gas station without chatting up the clerks. She was opinionated and let you know her opinion whether you liked it or not. She had guts, integrity, and loved fiercely.
Sure I can tell you about.....
-Breaking her finger playing ball with us girls, not once, but several times.
-Teaching us girls how to twirl a baton.
-The Dale Street house and how she was one of the first women in St. paul to get a mortgage and own a home.
-That she was one of the first female mail carriers in St. Paul, Minnesota.
-How she used to "monitor" our high school parties by patrolling the outside of the house just as our friends would toss a beer through the basement window.
-How she and Dad would sit through "screeching fests" with us girls.
-How she loved her pups; Prince, Betsy, kelly, Mulligan, Finnegan, Sean, Ryan, Dooley, DELANEY, and most recently, Bailey and Shawnie.
-How she loved her Husband, Patrick.
-How she loved her grandchildren, Matthew, Daniel, and Sarah.
-How she loved her "new" grandchildren, Erika and Caleb.
-How she loved the people her children loved, Jim and Angel.
-How she loved us, Mary Theresa, Bridget, Mitzie, and her little quardian angel, Stephanie.
-How she loved all of you, sister, Pat, special cousin, Judy, and all her nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends.
-To her grandchildren, make your grandma proud...and you all know what that means individually.
Everything good that is in me. my sisters, Bridget and Mitzie, came wholly or in part from Mom. She taught us to love and to give. She taught us the value of hard work and dedication to our passions, to travel our own path courageously. She taught us the value of every human and animal life, regardless of how meek or downtradden. We are the women we are today because of our Mother. Mom's legacy is not the tangible things she left. We are her legacy.
As for us, it is hard. It is hard to be left behind. It is hard to be the ones who stay. And it is okay to admit that it is hard. Telling you how hard this is for us brings us together in honoring her, even if we must do it in short and simple words.
We call to her by her name....
MARY MARGARET CAROLINE BERNADETTE SCHAUER MCGIBBON
We LOVE her, and she LOVED us.
As our Mother taught us to be strong, she expects us to carry one, and so we will. We will be okay. WE will fill up again. But for now, the well is dry, and the buckets come back up, empty. Now there is no quiet where we are. Now we scout our hearts.
Thank you all for the love and frienship you gave her. Thank you for coming here, today, to say goodbye. Ou Mother, Mary, is not in pain anymore, and for that, I am glad. She is on her way to heaven to be with our Dad, Patrick, our grandmother, Florence Schauer, her brothers, Jack and Norman, brother-in-law, Swede, and her beloved daughter, Stephanie of whom not a day went by that Mom didn't pray and think about.
I'd like to leave you all with this quote by Helen Keller;
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."
If, by the end of her life, our Mother ended up touching your hearts, then what else can one ask for in this world but to touch people's hearts?
Please, all of you who can do so, go home and hug your Mothers.
Rath Dé ort! (The Grace of God be with you.)
Thank you, MOM.
I'll love & miss you forever Mary...
Mary Theresa (McGibbon) Bevilacqua's eulogy given on May 20, 2013 at Fort Snelling where our Mother was interred with honors.
Céad míle fáilte romhat!
(A hundred thousand welcomes to you)
"On behalf of our family-my sisters, Bridget and Mitzie; Angel, my husband, Jim and Mary's grandchildren-Matthew, Daniel, Sarah, Erika and Caleb. We would like to thank all of our Mother's family and friends for being here today to celebrate her life and to mourn her death. I'm sure she would have been thrilled to see all of you here and I know it would have meant the world to her.
When my sisters asked that I speak on behalf of our Mother I actually looked forward to this honor...one last time that I can give something to our Mom who gave so much to us girls throughout our lives. I was eager to do so, but, quite honestly, I struggled with the words. What can I say to, and about, a Mom who worked hard, was always there, someone you could always count on and showed us that we were never abandoned? Nothing mattered to our Mom but to make sure that her girls were together, safe and loved.
Mom was a feisty, high-spirited little Irish ball of fire. She loved to talk with anyone. She couldn't go into a gas station without chatting up the clerks. She was opinionated and let you know her opinion whether you liked it or not. She had guts, integrity, and loved fiercely.
Sure I can tell you about.....
-Breaking her finger playing ball with us girls, not once, but several times.
-Teaching us girls how to twirl a baton.
-The Dale Street house and how she was one of the first women in St. paul to get a mortgage and own a home.
-That she was one of the first female mail carriers in St. Paul, Minnesota.
-How she used to "monitor" our high school parties by patrolling the outside of the house just as our friends would toss a beer through the basement window.
-How she and Dad would sit through "screeching fests" with us girls.
-How she loved her pups; Prince, Betsy, kelly, Mulligan, Finnegan, Sean, Ryan, Dooley, DELANEY, and most recently, Bailey and Shawnie.
-How she loved her Husband, Patrick.
-How she loved her grandchildren, Matthew, Daniel, and Sarah.
-How she loved her "new" grandchildren, Erika and Caleb.
-How she loved the people her children loved, Jim and Angel.
-How she loved us, Mary Theresa, Bridget, Mitzie, and her little quardian angel, Stephanie.
-How she loved all of you, sister, Pat, special cousin, Judy, and all her nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends.
-To her grandchildren, make your grandma proud...and you all know what that means individually.
Everything good that is in me. my sisters, Bridget and Mitzie, came wholly or in part from Mom. She taught us to love and to give. She taught us the value of hard work and dedication to our passions, to travel our own path courageously. She taught us the value of every human and animal life, regardless of how meek or downtradden. We are the women we are today because of our Mother. Mom's legacy is not the tangible things she left. We are her legacy.
As for us, it is hard. It is hard to be left behind. It is hard to be the ones who stay. And it is okay to admit that it is hard. Telling you how hard this is for us brings us together in honoring her, even if we must do it in short and simple words.
We call to her by her name....
MARY MARGARET CAROLINE BERNADETTE SCHAUER MCGIBBON
We LOVE her, and she LOVED us.
As our Mother taught us to be strong, she expects us to carry one, and so we will. We will be okay. WE will fill up again. But for now, the well is dry, and the buckets come back up, empty. Now there is no quiet where we are. Now we scout our hearts.
Thank you all for the love and frienship you gave her. Thank you for coming here, today, to say goodbye. Ou Mother, Mary, is not in pain anymore, and for that, I am glad. She is on her way to heaven to be with our Dad, Patrick, our grandmother, Florence Schauer, her brothers, Jack and Norman, brother-in-law, Swede, and her beloved daughter, Stephanie of whom not a day went by that Mom didn't pray and think about.
I'd like to leave you all with this quote by Helen Keller;
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."
If, by the end of her life, our Mother ended up touching your hearts, then what else can one ask for in this world but to touch people's hearts?
Please, all of you who can do so, go home and hug your Mothers.
Rath Dé ort! (The Grace of God be with you.)
Thank you, MOM.
