Evelyn Claire George

Fifty-one years ago today my sister Evelyn was born. Ten years ago this past November (22nd), Evie went home to be with God. These past several years I've had my ups and downs about missing my sister. One of the parts that's been the hardest for me is the fact that Kirsten never got a chance to meet her. Evie absolutely adored babies... I know she would've just loved holding our little Kirsten! She probably would've gotten a kick out of Kirsten's hyper-shakiness (that she's done since infancy!), and she would've enjoyed talking with Kirsten as she grew. I'm sure Kirsten would have a captive audience with Aunt Evie whenever she'd talk about medical things (like her surgeries, and her never-ending fascination for blood and bones and such!). As the youngest of 7 kids and the last to marry, I was looking forward to my sister's excitement over my child. The fact that I missed out on that experience really makes me sad. But you know, I can say I know for a fact that Evelyn's in Heaven. I'm not sure if this is Biblically correct or not, but for my human mind's sake, I'd like to think that Evie's been talking with God about Kirsten's health matters. It's somewhat comforting to let myself think that my sister's been up there with our Father, kinda looking out for her niece.

It was fun growing up with Evelyn! She was the 3rd out of us 7 kids, and there was about a 15 year difference between us. Since she was handicapped (mentally retarded to an extent), she always lived at home. Little sidetrack on her mental status... there wasn't a specific diagnosis with her, but I bet in this current day there would be one on the books. My Mom's even heard of a few that she thinks might have been what Evie'd be categorized into, but back then... she just didn't know. Evie was smart, don't get me wrong! But she was just slow enough that she would've lived with my parents forever. Sure, she could've been in a group home if she wanted, but she didn't. She graduated high school, went thru a trade-type school, and was very active in a Parks & Rec program that Sterling Heights offered for the handicapped. Evie LOVED God! She read her Bible and memorized verses. I can just hope that words she'd learned came back to comfort her when she was struggling with her cancer and treatments. I'd believe God has the power to do anything, and I'd like to believe He allowed her mind to be clear with things like that when needed. Evelyn was a music fanatic! Her absolute favorite style was opera. Yes, you heard me... opera! She'd play their music all the time... often singing along as best as she could! She knew all the famous singers and could tell anyone their stats. Speaking of stats, there was something about the way her brain worked... she'd write various numbers in notebooks on a daily basis. She's record scores of players on Jeopardy. Even after she passed away, my Mom found papers upon papers of random numbers all over. It'd be interesting to find out just what she was doing with those. I'll have to ask her when I see her again! (Almost makes me wonder... could she have been a genius in a way?) Evie loved her family, each and every one of us. And she was fun! She was happy, full of life, living in the moment. I never saw her worrying about future things. Sure, she had emotions like the rest of us... even her little sister could push her beyond her breaking point! (And she could push back HARD! LOL) But she just had this attitude that was amazing... taking things in, enjoying food and people and experiences, not stressing about the little things, trusting in God and in those around her... what an example!

I sure miss Evie. I know I'll see her again someday, but I still miss her. And love her as much as I did when she was here in person.