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Shirley Cramer uploaded photo(s)
Thursday, September 19, 2024
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I sure enjoyed my visits with you and your many stories of life throughout the years. Whether it was stories of Mom from a sisters point of view or stories of us as children getting into mischief on the farm, it was always entertaining. I love you!❤️
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Anonymous planted a tree in memory of Margaret Ann Lewis
Friday, September 13, 2024
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Katherine Parkin uploaded photo(s)
Thursday, September 12, 2024
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Margaret was especially proud of her Rachel garden in memory of a Grandaughter who died at a young age.
Katherine and I visited her creation when we visited Margaret and Dick and family,they always welcomed us whenever we visited, that was a great feeling and we will miss seeing them dearly! We were quite surprised when Marie, Mike and Lorraine visited us just 4 days before the funeral, Katherine wished she could have made some cookies just like Margaret would have done! Lots of love from Katherine & Ed
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Richard Pensyl posted a condolence
Thursday, September 12, 2024
I will always have fond memories of Margaret and Dick and their family on the farm when I was young. I learned about what true family love meant. She was always very kind and funny. My heart goes out to all of her family. She was a wonderful hard working lady. I just loved her.
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Richard Lewis posted a condolence
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
My mom passed away last Thursday evening. She was a special person to so many people. Besides being a great mother, to whom my siblings and I owe so much, we often jokingly said that she ran the Shady Rest Hotel in West Union (a Petticoat Junction reference that some of you will be familiar with:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petticoat_Junction ), since she opened up the home to so many visiting relatives and acquaintances over the years, who stayed varying lengths of time, but who always got to enjoy her hospitality, good cooking, clean household and sense of humor. I got to know many of my "Big City" first cousins (and their parents, my aunts and uncles) only because my mom was so willing to have them all come and stay with us, especially during the summer months.
She ran an absolutely clean and tidy household! There was never a dirty dish that went through the night, and the neighborhood mice knew better than to try to find a missed crumb on any of her floors. I shudder to think of how many laundry washes, which she called "worshes", she did over the years, because she hated dirty clothes or linens. Growing up in her household you had to be careful about just leaving a stray sock, a tee shirt, a pair of pants, whatever, just lying around, because before you could blink an eye she would scoop it up and throw it in the washing machine.
And, that cleanliness habit extended to the farm chores also, as for many years she took on the responsibility of doing the "milk dishes", which entailed keeping the milking equipment and stainless steel milk pails sparking clean, up the standards of the 'milk inspector' from the New York State Board of Health, a task which Mom proudly passed with flying colors.
And, she also was just as particular about the appearance of the outside of her house- she planted flowers for years in beds out along the road, in front of the barn yard, and always had potted flowers at the door entries and front porch. And, don't even get me going about how much she wanted the yards to be kept nice and mowed. For years she did the mowing herself, first with a push mower and later she learned to operate a riding mower. Heaven forbid if Dad or Ed (my older brother who went into partnership with Mom and Dad on the farm after I left home) ever left a tractor, wagon or any other piece of farm equipment on the lawn for any extended period, especially overnight, for they were certainly going to hear about it, right then and for some time afterward! There were some things you just didn't do in Mom's world.
To sit in her immaculate and warm kitchen, with yummy cookies at hand and warm coffee or tea in reach, at that little table where so many people through the years have sat with her, and Dad, and "got caught up" by sharing the latest gossip, telling stories and maybe a few jokes, the latter often featuring episodes of gut laughing so loud you would have thought the walls of the house might collapse, was such a warm and memorable experience. It's going to be incredibly difficult and painful to accept that we'll no longer be able to sit down at that kitchen table with Mom, looking out through the sliding windows, across the driveway to the barn and barnyard, and beyond, and talk about what's going on in the world, but, mostly, we'll no longer be able to just sit there in a moment of silence and take deep-down comfort in 'being home'.
Mom instilled in us kids a good sense of right and wrong and the importance of honesty, and was a living example of working hard to build a good life. I had a special relationship with her that my other siblings missed out on, but only because I suffered from asthma as a kid. I ended up having to have weekly injections at Dr. Cotton's office in Hornell, so Mom would pick me up from school on Friday afternoons and take me up to get my shot. Afterwards we often did whatever shopping needed to be done, visiting various of those department stores in Hornell and Canisteo that are now long gone. But one remains which we sometimes would go into: the Texas Hot cafe. I can vividly remember sitting in those comfy booths, with the little coin-operated music boxes and the condiments nearby, and getting to order what was for me at the time an unheard of treat- a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, served up cut into halves, with a wooden tooth pick securing the contents of each, and a pickle on the side! We never had such a thing at home, what with iceberg lettuce being such a novelty back then. To this day, I think of Mom whenever I get the chance to eat a BLT.
But, the real reason I bring up the above story is that I have always felt a tremendous gratitude to Mom and Dad, for they spent a lot of extra time, care and money on me, as compared to my other siblings, because I was so sickly as a kid. They took me to special clinics for my asthma diagnosis and treatment, and, of course, for years Mom took me on that weekly trip to Hornell for my injection. Eventually, the treatments did work, and I have only suffered occasionally from asthma as an adult, but when I was going through those sessions in my youth when I struggled for my next breath, Mom always emphasized that if I ever attained good health I should never do anything to jeopardize it. So, I never had any difficulty at all saying "no" whenever someone tempted me as a high schooler or college student to smoke cigarettes/pot or drink alcohol. Without hesitation I can thank Mom for the label that I have proudly worn my entire adult life: I am a non-smoker and a teetotaler! (Just like my Mom).
In the near future, I think I'll stop at the Texas Hot in Hornell and have a nice, warm BLT in Mom's memory. I hope they still serve them.
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Diane Bledsoe posted a condolence
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Oh how you will be missed Aunt Margaret. It was as so good to sit down at your table and catch up. As a kid there was no place I'd rather go than yours with Uncle Dick. Your home was a refuge for me . A piece of pumpkin pie was an added prize. Give Uncle Dick a hug and know we will love you forever. Diane and Lynn
A Memorial Tree was planted for Margaret Ann Lewis
Monday, September 9, 2024
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We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at H.P. Smith & Son, Inc. Funeral Home - Canisteo Join in honoring their life - plant a memorial tree
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The family of Margaret Ann Lewis uploaded a photo
Monday, September 9, 2024
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