R. I. P. Aunt Joanne

My Aunt Joanne passed away the other day. She was 90 years old and had lived a very good life. The funeral is Saturday in Ohio and I wanted to go but had a conflict that will keep me in town.

And, even though I was never very close to Aunt Joanne, I feel very bad about not being able to attend. I would have liked to have been there to say goodbye and pay tribute to her for one of the greatest acts of unselfishness I have ever known.

I know they were called the Greatest Generation because of their contributions in World War II. Aunt Joanne was one of those people -- she was a nurse in the war (Scotland, as I recall) for more than four years.

But the people of that era -- who were born in the first quarter of the 20th century -- taught us more than just how to be brave and fight for our country. They showed us by example how to do the right thing.

Here's an example:

When I was two years old, my dad became very ill. He needed to be hospitalized and he was going to be in for a long time. (In essence, he was a patient for the rest of his life.) My mother suddenly had a big problem. She had four boys ranging from age 2-9 and a sick husband to care for. She clearly needed help. I went off to live with her sister, Aunt Ida and her husband, Uncle Cletus in Dayton, OH. They didn't have kids of their own. I don't know if that made it easier but it was simpler.

My brother Paul, who was four, went to Adrian, MI to live with Aunt Joanne, Uncle Jimmy and their kids. Think about that for second. You take one of your sister's kids -- a little boy you hardly knew who lives two hours away -- and bring him into your house with your own kids (I think there were six of them). That is one terrific, unselfish act. Paul was only at Aunt Joanne's a couple of years -- he came back to Detroit when he was old enough to go to first grade -- but time isn't important here. What matters here is that Aunt Joanne simply opened up her home to a relative in need. No questions asked. Mom needed help and her sister was there for her.

To me, that's why the people of that era were the Greatest Generation. They performed acts of kindness like that automatically and never asked for extra credit or praise. They simply stepped in and did what needed to be done.

Maybe it is because many of the kids of that era were like mom's -- raised on a farm with the knowledge that everybody must pitch in to get chores done. Maybe it is because their parents simply told them it was the job of all the boys and girls to look after each other.

I don't know. But I do know the world would be a lot better if we had more people like Aunt Joanne and Uncle Jimmy in it.

Aunt Joanne was the last of mom's eight brothers and sisters to go. That was quite a crew of Albers kids -- tough as nails on the outside but with a heart of gold where it mattered. I hope they are enjoying being together again.