I recently read a story of a eulogy. Of course, it included the birth date and date of death. Then the eulogist went onto say that what was most important was the dash…that small dash between our date of birth and our death. A simple punctuation mark but simply not insignificant to those whose lives were touched during the time that person was born and when they died. Within days of reading such story, I was notified that my Aunt Roby had gone Home. I will miss my Auntie so very much, but I am most glad she has moved on from pain and into glory! Oh, how they all must have partied in Heaven…her husband Cliff who had gone on before her and my Pop and those she long reminisced about! When my Pop died, I recall her telling me how Pop’s spirit lives on all around us- I feel her today in the Spring breeze and the song of a new yard bird is especially melodious like the birds she so enjoyed! She relished the return of a quail family every year to her backyard and thought the blue heron a majestic sight to behold. I cherish that blessed visit with her after Pop’s death (toast and fresh berries with corn on the cob remains my favorite summer meal since then) as she and I giggled our way through mourning tears. I cannot help but feel that my Pop is now completely gone as I recall how she voiced what I felt: “he is with us through us…her brother through me and my Pop through her.
Dearest cousins, she was so very proud of you all. She often told me how she cherished her daughter’s daily phone calls no matter how short and the regular visits with growing grandchildren. Oh, how she loved her grandkids- her letters were filled to the brim with their accomplishments. She and Uncle Cliff raised a beautiful, strong family that leaves such an impact upon this earth. I need not tell you how much she loved you all!
Roby Ann Davis Eilers wore many hats and touched many lives. A few years back, I was in a small furniture shop here in town. As is the case whenever Washington enters the conversation, I spout about my family there. Not too often is someone from Yakima, but this time, the young man immediately dialed his Momma in Yakima; “You’ll never believe who is standing in my shop, Ma!” “It is Roby Eilers’ niece!” He didn’t go into details, only that she was known to his family as a caring woman who did for many.
I wrote about this to my aunt. She never addressed the issue, but then she was a woman of decorum and modesty. Most of what I consider well in my own character, I attribute to my Pop and Aunt Roby. She was a constant wisdom in my life and an eager ear to listen. She was my partner in Snail Mail correspondence ever since I learned to write and to my youngest daughter she will always be “Aunt Boby”. To her family and those who knew her, she was an amazing gift in that dash between our own dates of birth and the date we shall leave this earth and join her in that Party in Heaven!