Emotional Pitfalls of Living Abroad

I lost my grandmother yesterday to a long hard battle with alzheimers and old age. She was one of the most incredible people I've ever known, of course I'm not biased or anything. ;-) Living abroad is a blessing and a curse for so many reasons and one of the hardest are these moments when you want so badly to be physically close to your family. Skype and calling cards can only make up for so much distance.

Here is the obituary that ran in her local newspaper, I think my mother did a wonderful job writing it. She will never be far from our hearts and minds.

"Dorothy Roady Wilson, 102, of Bowling Green, died at 9:50 pm on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at a Bowling Green nursing home.

The Alton, Illinois native was born on July 4, 1906, a daughter of the late Charles Henry Roady and Nell Rowena Roady. She was the wife of the late George T. Wilson, Jr., and was also preceded in death by her brother, Paul W. Roady, of Alton, II., and a sister, Blanche Roady Clark, of Woodriver, Illinois.

Mrs. Wilson was a secretary for the Owens Illinois Glass Company and later worked at the Vanderbilt University Bookstore in Nashville, Tennessee. She was an avid gardener, reader, and bird watcher. She was a graduate of the Alton High School and a member of the Episcopal Church. Mrs. Wilson was a loving mother and grandmother who outlived many of her friends.

A family memorial service will be held at a later date. Johnson-Vaughn-Phelps Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Expressions of sympathy may be made to the following: A Voice for Animals (270-783-9195); Bowling Green/Warren County Animal Adoption Center, 1925 Old Louisville Road, Bowling Green, KY, 42101; Rainhill Equine Facility, 11125 Highway 185, Bowling Green, KY, 42101

Survivors include her daughter, Dorothy Demuth Wilson, of Bowling Green; two grandchildren, Emily Slaten Lopez, of Mountain View, California, and Lilia Roady Lopez, of Washington, D. C.; two nieces, Nell Foster Waltz, of La Jolla, California, and Jane Louise Wilson, of Center Tuftonboro, New Hampshire; two cousins, Judith Schlieper Laronge, of Vancouver, Washington, and Gary Cummins, of Denver, Colorado."