Aunt Sandy

 

I found out a few months ago that my very last living aunt had passed away. Actually, Aunt Sandy was my aunt by marriage and had been divorced from my Uncle Parvin since I was around 15, but even after that, I always considered her my aunt. Aunt Myrtle, who later stepped into her shoes, never captured the same loyalty that I had for Aunt Sandy.

Her given name was Eloise, and I am not certain how she came to be known as Sandy, but everyone who knew her called her by that name. My Uncle Parvin was 14 when I was born, and I can almost swear that I remember him throwing me up in the air and catching me when I was a baby…but, no, that cannot be true. But it does foretell the kind of relationship we had, and when he married Aunt Sandy, we continued to be close including my new aunt.

Aunt Sandy and Uncle Parvin lived in a subdivision near Dover Downs (the well-known auto racing track in Dover, Delaware) which was non-existent when they first built their home back in the 1950s. In fact, I remember their home being delivered by truck from Sears and Roebuck, one of their first prefabs, I believe. I can also remember walking around in their basement when it was just a hole in the ground, so interesting to me at that age and I’m not sure why.

Both Aunt Sandy and Uncle Parvin wanted children, but their wish was never granted, and I think that may have contributed somehow to their separation. When Aunt Sadie told me Sandy had moved out, I felt like I had lost a best friend, and I could not understand why she would do such a thing.

She taught me to crochet when I was very little, exhibiting the patience of the proverbial saint I’m sure. Granted, it was crocheting around special handkerchiefs but crochet nonetheless. We both were so proud of ourselves. And as a part time job/hobby she tinted black and white photography. I was spellbound watching the delicacy of her work, and she even let me try a few times under very close supervision. That led to my interest in drawing and painting, and she was my biggest fan. To have been in our family for such a short period of time, she made a huge impression on me. And did I mention how pretty she was. Sadly, I have no pictures of her.

After their divorce, she moved into an apartment on the south side of Dover and worked at the Secretary of State’s office for a long time. I begged for overnight stays and was allowed once in a while, but eventually we drifted apart, and I lost track of Sandy. I heard from relatives that she had remarried, and after that news of her became non-existent. 

Several years after we had moved to Florida and the internet was in full blossom, I thought of Sandy and “googled” her and to my complete surprise, she was living in The Villages, yes, that famous retirement 

community down south. Lucky for me I knew her married name, and she was still married to the same person. I couldn’t wait to write to her and that is exactly what I did. This was probably in the 1990s. I received a letter right away and the very first sentence asked if I was still drawing and painting. That was Sandy, always more interested in you than in herself. We exchanged a few letters, and I always checked Google to make sure of her address.

Through a letter in the early 2000s I learned of her husband’s passing and that she had traveled back to Delaware for his burial. She had visited with my Aunt Frances, my only other living aunt at the time, and sounded excited at seeing old friends and old places, but said she would remain living in Florida. One would think we would have visited each other and we planned to, but something always came up to thwart our plans, and a visit never materialized.

Then, around the first of this year, as I had been prone to do, I “googled” Sandy Jopp and found this. I waited too long for that visit. I would have  loved to have seen Sandy in person, but her impression on me was in no way dimmed because of that, and if there is any chance she can hear me…”Thank you Aunt Sandy for always making me feel special.”