Ida Shiplet died on Easter Sunday, the day before I returned home.  She managed to beat bone cancer a number of times before it suddenly, after being in remission, came back with a vengeance, killing her in just over a week.

I met Ida and her family when I was a new teacher.  She came to speak to me about her son.  Ida was mad as hell at me because we’d been role playing ancient Romans.  I’d divided the class into Plebians (poor and middle class) and the Patricians (the rich and famous).  Their son was a Plebian and had been told to put his nose against a spot on the blackboard as a punishment by one of the small group of Patricians.  Ida was fuming, but after I explained what I was doing, she calmed down and she and her family became good friends since 1967.

Ida was one of the few people I knew that said exactly what was on her mind.  She had a big heart. I didn’t realize how much I was going to miss her until she died.  I called her a couple days before she passed and was surprised when she answered the phone.  We both knew she only had a few days left to live so we made small talk. As I was getting ready to hang up, I said I was going to miss her and pray for her.  Then without notice, I started crying big tears and sobbing into

the phone.  I know she must have taken it as a compliment.  I was reminded of the book Stephen often talked about called, Who Will Cry When You Die.

I was the first to volunteer to speak when asked if anyone wanted to say anything at her funeral.  I told the above story in similar words and got a chuckle or two.  Her many friends gathered for lunch afterward.  One close friend put together a slide show of Ida’s life and it made me realize all the more what a wonderful woman she was.  She, like anyone who says what’s on her mind, had made a few enemies, but her friends were many and were all there to celebrate her new life where she will be free of suffering.

Ida and her husband, Dave, lost their youngest son in a drowning accident when he as in he early 20’s.  He was a father of two girls, who are now grown and married.  There oldest son lives in the southwest and often didn’t make it up to see his parents.  They usually went down there.   Dave and Ida were married for 57 years.

Ida had a big heart and consequently was easily hurt.  But she always bounced back. Here are some of the things that were in her obituary.  Ida worked for the local school district for 15 year and was involved in many school activities.  When I taught here, I was involved in many of those activities with her such as the Boy Scouts, Little League, and  Pop Warner football.

Ida was named honorary mayor of the city, was grand marshal of the local parade, scorekeeper for the high school basketball team, chairwoman of the high school boosters’ club,.  She belonged to the Soroptomists, Lions Auxillary and was director of the local United way and director of the local Aid to the Handicapped.  I had no idea she’d done so much.

Anyway, I will miss Ida’s honesty and forthrightness as well as her sense of humor and big loving heart.  I still find myself tearing up when I think that I will never be able to stop by and see her again.