My favorite great-aunt on my grandfather's side died rather recently. She was my grandfather's last surviving sibling.
I was always amused that her Arkansas accent was just as thick as ever, after decades of living in California. My Papa has pretty much lost his accent after so long, though it depends on the circumstances.
I only saw her when she visited from out of state, maybe once every few years, but I liked her. She was a nice lady.
One thing, though, that I wished I could change about her, for her sake and mine, was her obsession with the End Times. It always inevitably got around to that, when I was around her.
She was such an upbeat, optimistic, energetic person--but curiously, she was convinced that things were going to get worse and worse. Her voice and posture were almost not affected at all as she talked about the things that scared her and wondered aloud what the world was coming to. I don't know if it wasn't "real" to her, or if she was just totally convinced of the imminent Rapture. (I'm not convinced of it, even if the bible is true, since it is only implied in a few verses, and those verses also talk about dead bodies and vultures and such.)
My mom says that she told her not to bother graduating high school, since the Rapture was going to happen any time now anyway. This was in the late eighties. Hers was a world filled with happiness and dreadful omens, doom but not gloom.
And then after solemnly (for her) declaring that things were going to get worse and worse, she easily switched into lighter, happier topics, such as what various relatives were up to, her exercise routine (two miles every morning) or her bedtime schedule ("I go to bed about nine o'clock--first I read my bible, then I go to bed about nine o'clock," she was say proudly.)
Both her and my grandfather are very good at not questioning anything, never seeming to ever have doubts at all. It's just a fact, to them, that God is real and exactly as evangelical Christians believe him to be. In a way, I admire their abilities, since I tried in vain to silence my doubts, but I also think that is a bit unhealthy, in a way. It is not healthy to not question anything (and their worship of authority goes beyond God or church), in my mind, and what if they are merely afraid to question it?
She never said anything homophobic, to my knowledge, so I wasn't really bothered by her beliefs (though hearing her talk about the end times was a bit scary, even for an atheist, though apparently not for her). I didn't really see any reason to tell her of my own doubts, and I thought that would only worry her, and she was only visiting for a while, so I let it slide.
I am also amazed that she apparently did everything "right" in trying to take care of herself, and died before my grandfather, who doesn't seem to do anything beyond what my aunt and grandmother make him do (he does walk with them every morning, I hear, though certainly not two miles, and takes the supplements they give him). She took initiative with her health, and still died before someone who doesn't. She never smoked, to my knowledge, while her brother did, until a few decades ago. She was mostly positive, happy, and upbeat, while my grandfather often feels hopeless about his health and complains of being a lot of pain (though it is getting better lately--hopefully he is feeling better).
Yes, I miss her, and it's too bad that she died, but it doesn't affect me as much as it would if my grandfather passed away.
My mother has said that she didn't think he would be around in five years--ten years ago and more. I seem to know a good many people whose latest visit to the hospital always seems like their last, who seem to have bad health, just barely hanging on, for decades on end. My mom says that my papa has always been old, always told her and her siblings that he was old. It seems now that his health has improved at least a little. Though after what happened to my aunt, I'm a little worried that that's what will kill him...
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