Yesterday in Knox City, Texas, on behalf of the Pittman family, I delivered my aunt’s eulogy. This is a brief tribute to her. When the photos are developed, I’ll post a few, and perhaps the transcript of the eulogy I gave.

In Loving Memory of Mildred Pittman Stubbs

Born Feb. 5, 1925

Passed Away, Feb. 23 2008

Buried in Knox City Cemetery (Texas)

A Poem for My Aunt Mildred

I led the other family members in prayer,

Each of us remembering you in our memories,

None of them the same,

But all of them sacred.

I thought of your prickly pear jelly,

The many books on your shelves,

In one I discovered Edgar Allan Poe,

I thought of the knick-knacks above the books,

Thought of your lake house at Possum Kingdom,

And the day I saved my mother from drowning there,

Thought of how you laughed constantly,

How you made me feel like a true nephew,

How you never criticized me,

Never sighed in frustration at my chatter and questions,

As if you recognized my sprouting imagination,

As I read my copy of Turok: Son of Stone,

Which I had purchased from the newstand

Across from Jones Pharmacy where you worked.

You were my aunt for all those years,

Today, I was our family’s priest,

Giving last rites, giving your eulogy,

We committed your body to the earth,

Your soul to a loving God,

Telling the world that you

Will be remembered and loved.