Friday evening we lost our beloved employee of 23 years. She and her husband perished in a house fire.
Allean first came to work for my family as our babysitter when our twins were barely 2 months old. She stayed on to become their nanny (her choice of title) and then our housekeeper (again, her choice of title). She also worked from time to time in our greenhouse and occasionally at the shop during especially busy times.
She was a loyal and hardworking employee, ready to do whatever was needed. Somewhere along the way, many years ago, she ceased to be simply an employee and became part of our family. Not that she ever lived with us, although I had thought that she might one day, but because of her love for us and for our love for her.
My daughters call her Momalean. When they were first learning to talk, they could not say Miss Allean, and she refused to have them call her by a more formal name, so she became Momalean to our family and to many in this community. It is a name like no other, filled with love, just as she was like no other and filled with love.
Please pray for us as we strive to cope with this loss of our precious friend, and say an extra prayer for me as I speak at their funeral Thursday.
Allean first came to work for my family as our babysitter when our twins were barely 2 months old. She stayed on to become their nanny (her choice of title) and then our housekeeper (again, her choice of title). She also worked from time to time in our greenhouse and occasionally at the shop during especially busy times.
She was a loyal and hardworking employee, ready to do whatever was needed. Somewhere along the way, many years ago, she ceased to be simply an employee and became part of our family. Not that she ever lived with us, although I had thought that she might one day, but because of her love for us and for our love for her.
My daughters call her Momalean. When they were first learning to talk, they could not say Miss Allean, and she refused to have them call her by a more formal name, so she became Momalean to our family and to many in this community. It is a name like no other, filled with love, just as she was like no other and filled with love.
Please pray for us as we strive to cope with this loss of our precious friend, and say an extra prayer for me as I speak at their funeral Thursday.
