Sunday, December 02, 2007
In my family, a generation has passed
Three days ago, Athalia Ogden Barker, my grandmother's younger sister and the last living sibling of any of my grandparents, died at age 97. In our family, the entire generation of our grandparents, all born before World War I, is now gone.
Our Aunt "Thales" was grandmother to regular TigerHawk commenter GreenmanTim, who has honored her with several posts over at Walking the Berkshires.
MORE: In the lower left-hand corner of this post there is a family photograph from 1970 that includes me (the boy in center-front) at age 8 and the 'Villain (the boy with a buzz cut in the front row next to me) at age 5.
4 Comments:
By 
Unknown, at
Sun Dec 02, 03:28:00 PM:
How fortunate you've been to get to know her, Tigerhawk. In my family that generation i.e. that of my grandparents has been gone for nearly 50 years.
By GreenmanTim, at
Sun Dec 02, 06:03:00 PM:
Thank you, TH. Typepad seems to be on the blink at the moment, but I deeply appreciate the interest your readers have shown in the life of someone all but a very few of them never knew. Beloved elder relatives, however, are a point of common connection for many.
By Sara (Pal2Pal), at
Sun Dec 02, 06:30:00 PM:
When my Mother, my Uncle and my Mother's First Cousin Died all within months of each other and all in their 90s, I woke up to discover that I am now the family matriarch. It was a scary thought to be the "elder" generation and the eldest of the elder generation. No one tells you that one day you'll be in that position. Shudder!
As a genealogist, I did make an effort through the years to talk to those who were already ancient by the time I came along and get their stories recorded on paper and, in some cases, on tape. I would tell everyone, talk to your grannies and grandpas, aunts, uncles and your parents. Record their stories. You will be grateful one day that you did, even if right now in your life, it doesn't seem a big deal. And snag those pictures for a pictorial family record.
By 
, at
Mon Dec 03, 02:16:00 AM:
