Many of our team members knew her in some way during their lives, but some may not have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know her. Here is my perspective of this wonderful woman. Admittedly, I am biased, but she was the best mother in the world. Like any mother, she profoundly impacted the person and woman I have become.

She was born in 1943 to Frank and Edna Crist, the 14th child of 15 children. She grew up in a rural community near Newport, PA, and graduated from Newport High School. As a young girl, mom did well in school, except for one year when she experienced measles, whooping cough, hepatitis, and mumps successively. (Crazy to think that with modern vaccines, she would have been protected, right?) She often reflected on that year in the shared stories and mentioned how instrumental her mother was in getting her through that year. I could only imagine her and her parents' fear throughout that year.

She loved growing up in Perry County, PA and often took my brothers and me to visit her old stomping grounds when we were children. She told many stories of her exploits with her siblings. She had favorite stories that she told repeatedly throughout our childhood. She especially loved sharing the stories that showed her mischievous and “scientific” sides, especially some of the “experiments” she and Barry, her younger brother, conducted.

She met Skip, my dad, on a double date with my mom’s brother, Roger, and my dad’s sister, Eileen. As mom tells the story, my dad was smitten right away and proposed twice before she finally accepted about a year after that first meeting. She relished telling me about moments when expressed strength as a woman, and she took every opportunity to tell me throughout my life that as a woman, I am entitled to my opinions, to make my own decisions, and to be my own person. She often reminded me, “You do not need a man in my life, but it is OK if you have someone; just don’t lose control of your life.” When I was young, I did not always understand or appreciate her fervor on this point, but I grew to understand this advice much more as an adult. She wanted me to know I was strong enough to survive and do wonderful things, whether I had someone or not.

Throughout my adult life, she was a consistent confidant – someone I could talk to and count on for advice and support when I needed a woman. While I have other women I can count on, no one has filled this role since she passed, and no one ever will. It just won't be the same.

When my father died in 1991, I was a senior in high school. My mom grieved but moved on with her life because she knew she had to do so. She wanted to be an example of strength and resilience to her children. She doubled down on supporting me as I graduated and moved on in my life. She encouraged me and guided me, and sometimes she interfered, although she would never admit that.

With all that said, Mom could be critical and even discouraging, especially as it relates to my artistic or creative pursuits. I don’t think I ever understood what standard she measured me by, but she never hesitated to share her opinion. While it was annoying, I generally chalked it up to her desire to see me succeed.

This is the woman I am doing all of this for! She was not perfect, rather she was perfectly imperfect! That is why I loved her! Even in her last days, she worried about her family. She wanted to know we were OK, and more powerfully, she wanted to FIGHT the disease that ultimately ended her life. She hoped that my brothers and I would fight cancer in our lives, too. She lost a mother, husband, siblings, in-laws, and friends to cancer, and she wanted to fight in their honor.

She lost her battle, but I could not be prouder of the fight she gave and the woman she was.