Remembering Ellen

My mom's cousin died yesterday. She's had Alzheimer's for a long time, and hasn't recognized anyone for a very long time, so in some ways it's a relief, but it's still making me very sad. She is one of my favorite people from childhood. Here's what I remember: She was the most Norwegian-looking person I knew. I don't exactly know what this means, but as a kid when I would think of Norwegians I would think of Ellen. Her mom is my grandmother's sister and they were like me and my sister: one blond and one brunette. My family is more brunette than blond (except of course for my sister), so I suspect this was where my ideas of her Norwegian-ness came from! Every year we have a family reunion and every year Ellen would make the best chicken and noodles. Others have tried, but it's just not the same. I usually only saw her once a year, but she was one of my favorite parts of those reunions. I wish I could figure out how to tell the story of her shooing drunk trespassers who stumbled into our reunion, but I don't know how to tell it in a way that would do it justice. It's become one of our family "legends." My mom was her flower girl, and I loved looking at those wedding pictures as a kid. Fabulous dress. She was a wonderful person and I will miss her very much.