It’s never easy losing a loved one. Aunt Fran wasn’t an aunt by blood, she was a foster sister to my mother. Her parents, Reatha and Thornton Burns, took in three foster girls in their teens as companions to their daughter Frances. My mother was one of them. Another was Laurel Cahoon who married Oskar Lamsa and had two daughters, all considered family (aunt/uncles and cousins). The third girl was Mabel Ahlman and while I remember visiting her and her children when I was young, they weren’t considered part of the family.
We were raised with the elder Burns as grandparents (Nana and Grampa Burns), and Fran as our aunt. Living in the same town until high school, they were a major part of our life and always considered close relatives.
My aunt was always active – swimming, boating, gardening, and traveling the world during her summer vacations from her career as an English teacher. She retired as the head of the English department. She stayed active after retirement until her osteoporosis advanced too far.
Life moves on and so do we. Over the years I moved many, many times and only managed a couple of visits back to Duxbury to see them. Grampa Burns passed when I was in my 20s. Nana Burns when I was in my 40s, I think. (Note the misspellings in these census records: Reetha should be Reatha and my mother should be Rose Burdick, not Burdeck.)
This is the house where the family grew up. I looked it up online and the value is well over one million dollars now. It’s not so much the house but the location – just off the coast (X marks the spot).
And no, none of that comes to me or my family.
I have so many memories from childhood in this house and with the Burns family. Fodder for later posts…
Sorry for your loss, but glad you have good memories of your time growing up with her around.
Thank you. I do have some great memories.
I am very sorry for your loss Donna!
As a kid I never understood the concept of “real aunts” and “aunts by marriage”, and I wouldn’t have cared if it was a foster sibling situation, as long as the lady was nice, right?
What a fantastic thing your Grandparents did creating this family!
We didn’t know it was any different either. The funny thing, that I forgot to mention, was my mother called them Aunt & Uncle.He was Uncle Thornty to her and she and Aunt Fran came over most Saturday mornings for coffee and talk.
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