Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Until my first drive to Hagaman, New York, in the early 1970s, Uncle Les and his family were still images in photographs sent from Aunt Dolly and stories of how he held me when I was a baby in Yakima, Washington. There was the wedding photograph and the snapshots of the growing family — Linda and her brothers.
Uncle Les and Aunt Dolly welcomed me and two friends from college into their home. There were walks on the land, petting the rabbits, meeting relatives who lived nearby, eating together and great stories — mainly narrated by Uncle Les and Linda — of their family and cousins and co-workers and work experiences. Linda would share songs and make us sing along as she recorded us.
There would be a Columbus Day weekend drive to attend a wedding. Another to bring Mother to be with her dear brother and his family. And the sad trip to attend Uncle Les’ funeral, a departure that came years too soon. Mother and Linda clicked; at times, I felt Diane and I had another sister. She shared news of additions to her collections of dolls and crystal; even putting me on the hunt a couple times.
When Linda visited us in Virginia years later, once again laughter, curiosity and photographs of the monuments and places we toured abounded. When relaxing over dinner and into the evening there were family stories from Jamaica (what Mother could remember of what mischief she, Les and Dermott had done and foods their father cooked for holidays and Sunday mornings before swims in the nearby river as well as memories of the trip that Linda and Uncle Les had taken there together to be with family) and Linda’s abundant memory of childhood and current happenings in New York. Last year, Linda helped me compile her family’s branch of the Somers family tree.
Linda would call on birthdays and holidays. Often with a song she had composed. She could begin with the Easter bunny and turn the lyrics into a succinct message about the true meaning of the holiday. We wish we had recorded them. In the last years, we got into the habit of calling on Sunday after the CBS Sunday Morning to talk about features on the program, news and more personal health concerns, and, of course, memories — often for more than an hour. Mother and Linda would have ties over hospital visits, rehabilitation efforts and in-home care aides. Even when the experiences were far from ideal, Linda would be sure we ended on a happier note.
Her smile and wit, her joy in family and friends are all true. She had a loving nature that tried its best to overcome physical pain. I can only picture her with Uncle Les for Father’s Day 2021 with a special song, surrounded by other loved ones who arrived in Heaven before her.
With our love for Aunt Dolly and the whole family,
Aunt Ena Somers Lange and Carol Lange
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