Reflections From a Country Girl

Many people wanted to read what Ren said at mom’s memorial. Here it is!

January 30th, 2010. A year ago today, it was freezing on the east coast. I was receiving phone calls, texts, and emails from friends and family that flights were cancelled, or that they couldn’t leave their homes due to icy roads as the snowplows hadn’t made it by. In Columbia, the gathering for Mom’s graveside […]

Today, June 14th, has been six months since mom passed away. Hard to believe it’s been that long. Sometimes harder to believe it hasn’t been longer. There are a number of images of mom in my head that I can see any time I want to, whether my eyes are closed or not. I thought […]

Mom was always remarkable at keeping spectacular company. Five minutes with the most reserved in character would find them friends. Made friends were friends forever, no matter how often they crossed paths. As an observation, that ability served her well the whole of her life. A favorite example is found in recalling that she was […]

Joellen died peacefully on January 14th, 2010. She was the daughter of the late Robert Cleveland and Ruth Naomi Williams. Joellen was an educator, writer and philanthropist. She treasured her time as a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend and a lover of life to those she held close to her heart. […]