Good bye Martha. My first cousin Martha Hollis passed away December 16. She’d been Christmas shopping with her daughter, Jeanette, at the Brea Mall last Saturday, the 15th. That evening she suddenly felt ill, was hospitalized, then unexpectedly passed away Sunday.

Whatever you may think or believe about the reality of angels, we all know what qualities they symbolize. Martha had all of them.

Martha was my 1st cousin, yet she was just a few years younger than my mother her beloved Ruthie who passed away Christmas 2005. Now they are both gone; they were like sisters. Without Martha’s help eight years ago I would have never found, or would have had a much harder time finding a really nice residential nursing home for mom when Alzheimer’s took over.

Of all my extended family, Martha was my favorite. She lived in constant pain from a complication related to general anesthesia administered in a mastectomy surgery some 20 years ago. But, she, literally, never complained. Her hair never grew back from the chemo, yet she always looked the fashion plate with her makeup, wig, choice of clothes. Being in her home at Christmas made you feel the wonder-filled with her handmade decorations and beautifully lit and decorated tree. At her memorial today, her Baptist minister read a beautiful poem, Christmas in Heaven - as if we needed more encouragement to weep - but I’m glad he read it. It suited Martha. We sang Martha’s favorite hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

There were scores of her friends at the service. She was intensely involved in local community work, especially working with the elderly and sick. They will have a very hard time finding someone to replace her. She was their voice in local politics and would drive many of them to doctor’s appointments and take them shopping.

Life is sweet, but so so so brief. Enough.

I’m including the Christmas in Heaven poem below.

Good bye Martha. You and your Ruthie will never be apart again.

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