Ordinary day - good busy work day. I am happy for this ordinary day. I'm slowly starting to get old letters typed into the computer. I'm also typing in the account that my Aunt Tonie, my grandma Anna's youngest sister, wrote at my request about her memories of her big sister.

Austin Texas,
December, 1981

The enclosed is the story of the life of Annie Hurtik Kolar as I remember her. I realize you are mostly interested in information about her as a person - her likes and dislikes, her habits, her personality generally. I try to give you some of that information as best I can in addition to the biography.

Annie was a quiet and serious person. She was down to earth and took life in stride. She learned to shoulder responsibility when quite young which taught her to be more understanding or other people's problems. She was a good listener.

Annie married at about age 26 when the younger children learned to manage for themselves. Her marriage was a happy one and for several years her life was that of the average American homemaker. In later years the circumstances of her life changed her to be an even more serious person. This was due to several years of illness which sapped her vitality.

I think of her as a person who stayed in the background but whose presence was felt. She was not given to chatter and did not laugh easily. She didn't exchange confidences, always considering that family affairs are family busines. She never cared for jokes but did enjoy good clean conversation. She didn't gossip about her friends. She was conservative in her dress and not caring for frills or flashy colors. Annie had several close friends who remained her friends throughout life.

There are any more pages, some of which I will probably share here - but tonight I'm just intrigued by how may of the things Tonie wrote about Annie are true of me - I call myself a serious person, don't laugh easily, don' gossip, value lifelong friendships, hope I'm a good listener. This woman died when I was eleven - but she was so much my model for love.

So as we approach Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my Grandma Anna and for her sister Tonie, who taught me to crochet and was my nearest and dearest female relative during my pregnancies.