The gypsies were called back to the east coast a little earlier than planned. My Nanny had a few healthy days with us before leaving Earth and joining her husband in Heaven. Nanny passed in the early hours on February 28th. 

She gave us just the right amount of time to travel from LA and say our peaceful goodbyes. Fridays are very important to us as Nan had spent her Fridays for the last 7 years volunteering at the Bodhi Monastery food pantry. Her job was one of the most important at the pantry. She was the first person to greet people as they lined up to fill out the appropriate government papers before receiving a weeks worth of food. She left us on a Friday morning, just a few hours before we opened the pantry doors. We could all feel her presence throughout the pantry. We were even greeted with a few extra helpers too, including the bright sunshine face, Sarah, who joined us in New Orleans just a few short weeks ago.



Nan was a registered nurse for 45 years at a local hospital, the same hospital where my sister, two cousins and Lindsay were born. She helped establish the hospital’s same day surgery unit. The very same unit I was in when I had my one and only surgery when I was five years old. I don’t remember much from that time but I certainly remember her by my side. Since retirement in 1997, she was the President of her nurses association, and a volunteer at The Sacred Heart Center, Bodhi Monastery Food Pantry, the Sparta Wellness Center, Reach for Recovery American Cancer Society, and Friends of Hospice. It’s obvious we share the same compassion and concern for the well being of others. She will forever remain a true gypsy giver.