Florence Stubbs

Without her gentle touch and the smile on her face
The world has just become a very lonely place.

(I weep each time I put a memorial online for our dear Saluki friends.... This one is the hardest of all.

--Gayle)

Those who knew me when, in the days of dog shows and Yoda (who is the model for the line-drawing background image), also knew my Mom. She was my partner in crime, my traveling companion, sitting at ringside and cheering on the "little white Daxlore dog" with the less than graceful handler on the wrong end of the lead. She enjoyed the shows, the Salukis, and especially the people as much as ("sometimes more than" ... say the memories of running around the ring eight months pregnant) I did. Long before my kids began to talk, Yodie called her "Nanny".

"Nanny" she was to many, and will always be in our hearts. She is deeply missed, every waking moment of the day as well as in the darkness of the dreamtime.

And yet she's not gone, not really. So often since her passing, Mom has given us signs of her continuing presence. She's come to visit us in dreams, and sent us symbols of hope on an almost daily basis. She even sent my Dad a cat to keep him company, a little grey bit of a thing he calls "Monkey". The kitten waltzed into a fenced back yard and up onto our back deck, strutted up to my two elderly Salukis as if she'd known them all her life, and invited herself into the house.

A few days after Nanny passed away, my daughter came to me with a dream she'd had the night before. Nanny was there, in the yard behind her house, with my baby sister (who passed away as a newborn) in her arms, and Yoda beside her, letting us know all is well.

The "Hopi Prayer" was read at the graveside of Mom's best friend, Nellie, and it brought Mom great comfort that day. Now that the girls are together again, I borrow it for the sake of my own heart.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain.
I am the gentle Autumn’s rain.
When you awaken in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.

With sincere and loving thanks to dear friend Mary Jean
and her very special family.

Florence, and her husband Frank, her dearest love. Florence and Frank were married for 62 years. This photo was taken while visiting Florence's older sister, Dorothy, in the nursing home where she spent the last several years of her life. Gayle is ever thankful that her Dad lives right next door.

On Februrary 26th, 2010, Gayle's dad, Frank, joined his beloved wife in spirit.
They are together again ... as they were always meant to be.

Frank William Stubbs, Jr. 11/21/1925 - 2/26/2010

page created Jan 10, 2007