NeNe Sticks

This morning I got a text from my mom informing me that my Grandma Hunt's sister, Jeannine, had passed away. Aunt NeNe was a strong woman who often fought against the odds and won. Whether it was raising two children alone during the '50s and '60s when it wasn't exactly the norm, or fighting cancer and living years after many doctors predicted she would. Today, that cancer finally got the best of her, but she didn't go down without a fight.

She remained ever faithful in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and will always be an example to me of dedicated service and enduring to the end.

I will never forget the times spent with her at my Gp's cabin. She and I would often share the upstairs bedroom, and although we never 'chatted it up like schoolgirls', I always felt special being with her. One night she told me about how her name is spelled differently on her birth certificate, but that she had always spelled Jeannine with two N's so that's how she kept it.

My brothers and I loved going to visit her in St. George on our way home to Las Vegas from school. We would visit her at her home where she was always so hospitable and glad to see us there. We'd look at her old pictures and she would show us the most recent ones of her grandkids and great grandkids, she was so proud of them. In the most recent years we visited her at a hospital in St. George. She was so feisty with the doctors it was almost laughable, but it was that same personality that most likely kept her with us for so long. The last year of her life she lived in Missouri to be closer to her immediate family. I hope it was better for her, but we certainly missed having her close to us here. Although my grandma's children and grandchildren weren't her closest family, she was always an important part of our lives. We will miss you NeNe Sticks!

Until we meet again...