Remembering Gert

Hello friends,

          While I know I am behind on updating my blog, I wanted to take a moment to remember my dear friend, Gertrude Houston, who passed away on Friday, June 1st, 2012.  Throughout our lives, we see miracles, tragedies and loss everywhere we go...on the TV, in the newspaper and from friends and family, but most of the time, we move on with our daily lives as best we can.  When I received the news of Gertrude's passing through an email from my sister, I was devastated.  While I knew that Gertrude was fighting her hardest against the terrible monster that is cancer, I could not believe that she had been taken from us this soon.  She was only 54 and had so much life left to live and for those of you that knew Gert, she lived life as passionately, loudly and brightly as she possibly could.  Maybe that is why she was taken from us so early on, maybe she had lived her life at a faster pace than the rest of us.

          I am beyond grateful that fate intervened in May when Gertrude was having treatment in Buffalo (where I was finishing University) and she had forgotten her phone charger in Geneseo!  Her sister, Kathleen, asked my mother and I (on moving-out day) if we could deliver it to Gert and of course, we trucked (literally) on over to Buffalo General Hospital.  When we first walked in, she was a bit groggy from her medications, but quickly perked up when she saw who we were.  Throughout the visit she seemed optimistic, happy and she was, of course, full of captivating stories (about her doctors, her cleaning lady, anything!). During my short visit, she laughed with us, cried a little, and when my mother left the room, she told me "Don't come back from Europe married or pregnant!" (while giggling of course).  I gave her a small photo of me with my sisters and younger brothers and she was genuinely elated.  That was one of the wonderful things about Gertrude, her opinions, emotions and feelings were never half-assed or faked, they were always over the top and honest, you always knew how she sincerely felt. I left the hospital that day confident that she would at least last through the summer...sadly, cancer is a merciless disease.

          After a bit of crying, I realized that her passing truly was for the better.  She was in an immense amount of pain, unable to walk very much, or even take care of herself; this was not Gertrude's way of life.  She was an independent, strong-willed, enthusiastic woman, and while cancer may have taken her down in the end, she will never be remembered as a woman who suffered from cancer, she will be remembered as the amazing sister, aunt, friend and confidant that she always was.  She will always be remembered as the life of the party, always demanding attention to her stories, and ontantly giving out as much love as she could, whether you asked for it or not.  And while she wasn't blood-related to me, she has always been that crazy aunt that I loved to be around. I dug up a few photos from Facebook that I believe capture a small fraction of our dear, dear friend.

 Here she is as a pretty young woman (lower left corner) with her brothers and sisters..

and here she is dressed to perform in one of her many plays and productions with her late mother, Judy.

 Gertrude in Washington, D.C. with her adorable nieces and nephews! From the left: Felicity, Kate, Poppy, James and Isabelle :)  While they are adorable, Gertrude always insisted that I was the "cutest baby the world has ever seen!" (it's true).

Gertrude with her beautiful sister Kathleen! (my second mother)

This was her famous (well-used) two person bicycle! I only rode it once with Kathleen, much too scary for a second ride, but the kids loved it!

If you look closely, you can see Gert on the left of the LPGA trophy (in the green polo) and me on the right side in the pink skirt.  I was lucky enough to work with Gert and her wonderful team on a 'webcast' for the 2009 and 2010 LPGAs (golf tournament) in Rochester, NY.  It was a daily adventure with Gert.

aaand here she is, being her crazy-fun self with her great friend, Fiona Willis.

Geneseo will never be the same without it's beautiful daughter, Gertrude M. Houston. Rest in Peace, our beloved friend.

Please join me in remembering her amazing life and leave comments of your favorite "Gert Memories!"