Farewell, Mary Louise

Last Saturday, my Aunt Mary Louise passed away ~ she was my father's youngest sister. It seems strange to take photos at a funeral, and even more strange to post them on a blog, but the "Pasadena Bonuras" don't see the "Beaumont Bonuras" very often, so here goes ...

After the service and before the Interment, we met at the McDonalds for coffee. This is a photo of my Dad and his brother Joe Lee. Joe Lee is his only remaining sibling. Also pictured (partially) is my sister Suzanne.



Kent, Mary, my Mom (partially visible) and the side of Anna.



Here's the group at the graveside ~ it's been a while since this crew has been in the same place at the same time. For those of you who were at the service, and KNOW that I took the photo with Ed in the group and he took the photo with me in the group, I'll confess to removing myself from the other photo and inserting my mug into this one (via PhotoShop). Ahhhh, the wonders of technology.



Chris & Dad ...



Cousins ... Jody, Jay & Suzanne ... with extras.



Jay & Ed



Uncle Joe Lee & Ed



After admitting how strange it is to post funeral photos, I'll explain these ...

On the way to Beaumont, we were all trying to remember the exact dates that people had passed away and no one seemed to have written them down. I shot these photos so we can all "document" the dates.

Grandpa Bonura's marker ... he lived just shy of 100 years. It is remarkable when you think of the world changes he experienced in his lifetime.



Grandma Ruby's marker. I can't believe she's been gone for 30 years. Seems like yesterday that she was sitting at the kitchen table - at the old house on Van Buren -with Mary Louise, smoking cigarettes and cooking.



My Dad's mother, Annie, passed away when he was only three years old and he was raised by Grandpa's second wife, Ruby, who was the only mother he really knew.



Godspeed, Mary Louise. You will be missed.