In honor of Aunt Mary Ellen Culp

I am very excited to be representing the great state of Ohio, and extremely honored to be able to do this in memory of my aunt, Mary Ellen Culp (nee McDonough). Aunt Mary Ellen was always on the go…her creativity was off the scale…she could do anything with a needle, paintbrush, or glue gun!!! Her tole painting skills were extraordinary. Aunt Mary Ellen was the woman who could never say “no”. Need 500 favors for a wedding reception next weekend? No problem. Need five dozen homemade cookies tomorrow for a bake sale? No problem. She would stay up all night accomplishing whatever was needed. If you needed a wedding gown, she could make you a designer gown. She might be hemming it as you wait in the vestibule of the church, but it would be a beautiful gown.

My aunt leaves behind a legacy of caring family and friends who know that she was always the one willing to help with any project. We will never forget her. She beat breast cancer once when her youngest child was in high school. We thought that she had made a full recovery, but it reoccurred. After several years of fighting, and several rounds with chemo/radiation, she died on January 25, 2007. Her determination in trying to win the battle against cancer has been my inspiration to surmount various obstacles in my own life in recent years, but these obstacles are nothing compared to her battle with cancer. She never gave up.

Her spirit and zest for life live on through all of us. As I knit the rows on my portion of the shawl, memories flooded through me of my limited time spent with her. I am the same as many of you…I didn’t realize what a hole someone dying could leave in my life until it was too late.

I could write volumes, but will close here. The children in the picture are Aunt Mary Ellen’s two granddaughters and my daughter.