Good-bye GiGi Anne

GrandaMa Anne fell asleep in the Lord last night about 6:00 PM after coming out of surgery. All ten of her children and many of her grandchildren were with her. We will publish more about Anne over the next few weeks leading up to her funeral service.

As would be expected of such a generous person, she donated her organs to the University of Maryland Medical Center so we won't get her body back for cremation for a few weeks. When we do we will have a funeral liturgy for her at the parish church of the Charlestown Retirement Community where she and Grandpa David spent their last years. Grandma kept Grandpa's ashes at their home until she died; we will inter them together in a plot that the family is picking out before the funeral. We will publish some wonderful pictures in the next few days.

Alleluia Christ is Risen, and with Him we will rise again too, Alleluia! On the last day I shall see God in my flesh and live in God forever.

Happy Birthday to Ryan and Hilde!

Yesterday, March 6, Ryan celebrated his 17th birthday - go Ryan! Today for Hilde it was the BIG 30. It hardly seems possible.

Forgotten Birthdays

Gosh, I just realized that I forgot to wish myself and my "Irish-twin" sister Anne Thomason Cavanagh happy birthday. We were not born in the same year, the technical definition of "Irish-twins" as I understand it, but we were born just a year apart, I on February 9, 1954 and she on February 12, 1955. (I did send her an email but not a card) Happy birthday Annie!

Happy 31st Birthday to GEOFF!!

You say it's YOUR birthday, well happy birthday to ya!

Happy 24th Birthday Jesse Peter Thomason !!

Robert Alton Thomason

This is a picture of Grandpa that I had never seen before this year. He is about 19 and this was taken while he was serving in the US Army of Occupation in Korea in 1947. This day he was at a track getting ready to take part in a running event. He and Grandma had gotten married before he left; he was gone for about a year. After the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1948, hostilities broke out in Korea resulting in the Korean War. Grandpa left before the fighting began.

2007 the Year in Review

I recently found this cute picture of Mama with Pappy in 1950 sitting in his rocking chair. This was his favorite spot, except for the outhouse, and they lived just a stone's throw away from Jumper's Hole Road in rural Elvaton, Maryland where mom grew up. Pappy was Grandpa David Brown's step-father and 20 years younger than Tessie, David's mom. Her first husband William R. Brown II had died after their children, five boys and one girl, had become young adults.

We were very fortunate to have reconnected this year with the Louisiana branch of the Thomason family before Uncle Justin passed away in July at age 95. Through a series of very fortunate events I was able to get in touch with his daughter Pauline Thomason Merka who knows a lot about the family history. Justin was the last living child of my great grandparents Benadict Arnold and Delia Thomason who had thirteen children. Benadict also had three children with his first wife, Sarah Bacle Thomason who died young - before 1886. My grandfather, Alton Benjamin Thomason was a little older than Justin but died September 23, 1941 at the age of 35 from pneumonia.

Photos: Above- Justin Murphy Thomason in front seated, Standing left to right: Justin Joseph "Joe" Thomason, Marion Clare Rogers Thomason (2nd wife), Benjamin Arnold Thomason, Pauline Thomason Merka.

Below: Benadict and Delia Thomason at about age 60 and 48. Alton Benjamin Thomason in undershirt at about age 18. Stanley and Alton Thomason, Stanley was a first cousin of Alton's, the son of one of Benadict's brothers.