His cousins Marilyn and Jane

Once Edward reunited with his two cousins Marilyn and Jane, we saw them regularly in the past decade sometimes as often as three times a year. We would meet at our hotel, or a restaurant or a house. These two cousins were like sisters to him. He loved being with them and I loved watching them together chatting about Paris District High School which they attended and any family stories that they shared in common. Sadly just a short time before Edward was taken to the hospital Marilyn had died. He felt her death deeply; their bonds were real and tight those three cousins. He met with other cousins as well and bonds were formed that had been lost in his adult years. He was a big brother to them; both of them were widowed I think. He was so excited to be with them as you can tell by his smile.

 

They were always trying to include me in the conversation but I always quickly turned it back to them. This was his special time. I said that I was collecting up their stories in my mind to write down later for him. They returned to their stories of their time together as children. Although I hated that long drive; I was happy to see the smile on his face as he enjoyed being with his cousins. 

My sister sent me a wonderful picture of Edward with her and she would be about 12 years of age and Edward was 23. He thought a great deal of my siblings and especially my youngest siblings. That is his million dollar smile. He has to be pretty relaxed to smile. He tended to be a very serious person.