IN MEMORY OF THE WORLD'S GREAT MOTHER
Catherine Twilley Jester
Eulogy for my mother, Catherine
Thomas Twilley Jester
I celebrate the life of my mother, Catherine Thomas Twilley Jester.
My mother was born March 12, 1924 and raised on a farm near Hebron, Maryland.
Her father was Horace White Twilley and her mother was Susie Colona Twilley. My
grandfather “Poppa” was a farmer and carpenter. His father died when he was 12
years old and as the oldest child of eleven children he had to go to work to
support his mother, brothers and sisters. He learned early, commitment to family
and perseverance in difficult times. My mother learned these traits from her
father and they served her well throughout her life.
My father, Wilfred R. Jester, and my mother were married in 1946 until death
claimed him in 1992. They loved each other so much and out of this love came
myself and my two sisters.
My mother was a warm, caring and compassionate person. Her focus
throughout her entire life was her family. She always made me feel safe and
loved. She made sure my sisters and I were well fed, clothed and when we were
sick she nursed us back to health. She had an uncanny ability to know what each
of us needed at the time we needed it. She accepted her children as the
individuals we are and developed deep and personal relationships with each of
us.
My mother had a deep understanding of commitment, loyalty and love. She lived
those values each and everyday. She took care of my MS ridden father for over
three years until he had to be institutionalized; she cared for her mother for
fourteen years until just before her death. When I brought home my new bride in
1968, she embraced her as a daughter. My mother always knew how to love.
Mother could be stubborn and could exhibit an iron will.
Those traits provided her the determination to give her family the best
and to fight for what was right. She also had an internal compass to
distinguish right from wrong and to act in accordance with her own conscience.
It was that spirit in her that encouraged me to do good and supported me in my
life. She always wanted to share so
much of my life and experiences - We had wonderful conversations.
My Mother's convictions were grounded by her great sense of justice. She
taught me to care for those less fortunate and to always, without question,
treat people like I want to be treated.
“In the third grade I had a little girl in my class who was very poor. I had
told my mother about her and how she couldn’t afford crayons and had to use our
pieces. Mother let me buy her some crayons and give them to her as a gift. Her
dresses were soiled and often she had an odor because her home did not have
indoor plumbing. One winter morning before class one of my classmates was
humiliating her about her clothes. When he hit her, I took up for her. We fought
and our teacher came in and broke it up. She took each of us in the hall
privately and asked why we were fighting. She called our parents. When I got
home that afternoon I expected a spanking. Mother sat me down and told me that
fighting was not the way to solve anything but that she was proud of me for
defending someone who was defenseless.”
Mother encouraged us to be independent
and have high reaching goals. She understood the value of education and there
was never a question about advanced schooling for all her children. It is no
surprise that Kathy became a nurse, Sally became a teacher and I became a
university educator and researcher. She was proud of us.
She would have been proud of us regardless of our professions, because
she truly knew the good people we had become. In fact, she was the inspiration
for many of our goals, dreams and desires.
She had a keen intellect and a great love of the English language and
literature.
“I was read Alfred Lord Tennyson and Kipling when I was three years old. My
sister and I were read the Suwannee River Strange Green Land about the
Okefenokee Swamp. I still have dreams about the Snake Woman.”
She was a wiz at crossword puzzles. As
a lifelong Democrat, rooting for the underdog, she was politically astute and
sharp. She loved Hillary. She died proud to be able to vote in the 2008
election; she was an avid news junkie to the very end of her life.
These few words can not adequately describe all my feelings about my mother. She
was a friend to me and my wife. She was my sisters’ best friend. It was her
family that gave her life its meaning. I would call her and she would spend an
hour updating me about my sisters and her grandchildren. I would hardly have
time to ask her how she was. That was my mother.
Everyone else came before her.
She has left her touch on all of us with whom she shared her love. We will
miss her.