An Empty House....Obituary Written.

I went to my mom's house today.  I'm not sure why I went but I feel a bit overwhelmed by the next steps of emptying and selling it so I went over to just walk around.  Ernie had been going to go with me but Owen's down with a fever so I went by myself.  And maybe it was just as well as it's the first time I've really cried.  Sitting in the living room with her empty wheelchair.  I kept wanting to tell her I was sorry....sorry that I didn't bring her home to die but I know that to a certain degree that's hindsight and that I did the best I could.

 

I walked around and looked at my father's books....and missed him so much.

 

I talked to my friend Bob and so the funeral is settled.  I'll post her obituary below.  One more step.

Pauline N. Voelkl, of Urbana, formerly of Lisle, IL, diedWednesday (February 17, 2010) at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday,February 25, 2010 at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Urbana.  Pastor Robert Rasmus willofficiate.  Burial will be inMaplewood Cemetery in Rantoul, IL.

Mrs. Voelkl was born September 28, 1929, a daughter of Frankand Mildred Nelson in Hudson, Massachusetts.  She attended Pinkerton Academy in Derry, NH before moving toBoston and marrying Joseph Voelkl in 1952.  They later settled in Lisle, Illinois where they raisedtheir family, moving to Urbanain 2000 to be closer to their grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by her husband Joseph in 2008 andher daughter Judith in 2009.  Sheis survived by two daughters, Deborah Russo of Jamaica Plain, MA and CynthiaVoelkl, a son-in-law, Ernest Blackwelder, and two greatly beloved grandsons,Leo and Owen Blackwelder, all of Champaign, IL.

Her ladylike demeanor and charm masked great strength anddetermination and she loved her family fiercely.  She worked for many years as a legal secretary, was atalented seamstress and had a wonderful eye for collecting American antiquesand decorating her home.  Herspirit, warmth and charm will be greatly missed by those that knew her.  Donations on her behalf may be made tothe Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, 26 Broadway, 14thFloor, New York, NY 10004