This week, my Aunt passed away after a long-fought battle with cancer, diabetes, and other medical issues. She was a great woman and is highly deserving of a memorialization of her legacy.

A big thank you, Aunty Rosie, for being one of my first and most excited readers on here. You were happier for me about my articles than I ever was, and a year later I am still going strong. Thank you for always being supportive of my dreams, and proud of me through everything that I did.

It’s so easy to remember back to a time of dolls and makeovers, sleepovers and tea parties, summers spent in the sun and making crafts from old scraps.

And it’s so easy to put this into the frame of you, in your cozy little condo with Winston by your side.

Even though I existed only for a shorter part of your life, you have been there for all of mine. You are a part of my earliest and fondest memories and always will be. Growing up, you were a strong, independent role model to me, a woman I both respected and admired for your sharp wit, confidence in your decisions, and overall kind and caring spirit. You were like another grandmother to me, and I will always be grateful for the many lessons I received from you, in my nearly 21 years.

I learned how to appreciate a well-done manicure and learned that there’s always time for dominoes. I learned how to find joy in the classified ads of the newspaper and how to arrange the mini tea sets just right.

And I learned to be resilient and determined, confident and self-assured, compassionate and fierce all at once. You filled my childhood with love and lesson, and I know I speak for everyone when I say that you taught us how to laugh; how to live. You raised us, too, in your soul and spirit, and I will always be grateful for that.

Now’s a time to remember back on the memories. Spending days and nights upstairs trying on stylish clothes and expensive perfume. Long afternoons watching movies with you that I had never seen before. Many a holiday spent decorating the little fiber optic Christmas tree poised on the windowsill.

You were passionate and knowledgeable about our family and our history, and always interesting to listen to. You would always listen to one of us, too, whenever we had something to say or share. You were committed to and interested in all of your nieces and nephews’ lives, hobbies, and passions, along with those of the rest of the family.

In the end, you were an all-around loving, invested, spirited, and strong soul who will surely be loved and missed for the rest of our lives.

Rest in peace, Aunty Rosie.