# Friends, please join me in celebrating the life of my Aunt **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053 "2012-02-07T05:38:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/1 "2012-02-07T05:38:00Z")
Hello friends, I am asking you to join me in celebrating the life of my Aunt. She passed away a few days ago. It was a very sudden onset of cancer,and took us all by surprise. She lived in Toronto, so I am there now, dealing with the funeral and burial. I wll return to my home in Alberta in a couple of days. But I would ask you to celebrate with me for a couple of reasons: – She got a degree when most women didn’t, and for different reasons. In her day (she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1959), women students looked for husbands. My aunt looked for an education. She got one, and she used it. – She never stopped learning–and educating others. She was a title searcher and conveyancer at a law firm, and many lawyers who spoke to me today agreed that she taught them more about titles than they ever learned at law school. As a lawyer myself, I can attest that she taught me as well, in spite of the muddy explanations given by my professor. She cut through the crap, and gave me the straight dope on titles. Personally, she was my aunt. She gave me great presents as a child (no clothes, just great toys!); and as I grew older, she grew into a great friend. As recently as last October (2011), she and I went out to have martinis, steaks, wine, and desserts; after which she drove me home, blowing stop signs the whole way. (“This damn city has too many @#$%% stop signs!”) There is a Doper here who has a sig line (and apologies; I cannot remember who), that refer to something like, “sliding into home plate, glass of Scotch in one hand, cigar in the other, exclaimining, 'Man what a ride!” That, friends, describes my aunt. She was not a Doper, but she would fit in here well. Please join me in celebrating her life. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/2 "2012-02-07T05:41:01Z")
She does sound great and I am sorry that you lost her way too soon. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/3 "2012-02-07T05:46:15Z")
I toast your Auntie with a loud “Huzzah!” and salute her for being everything an Auntie should be. And I should know, because I have one who I count among the very best of my friends as well as being lucky enough to be related to her. I am sorry for your loss, but glad that you knew her. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/4 "2012-02-07T05:47:10Z")
Sorry to hear **Spoons.** Pour a shot of scotch then, and another one for your aunt in her honor. But drink 'em both – she sounds like the type who would insist. And if she would suggest another round, do it again. Be well. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/5 "2012-02-07T06:13:47Z")
My condolences on your loss. Your aunt sounds like a great lady, and a great aunt. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/6 "2012-02-07T06:14:17Z")
Sorry for your loss, but glad you got to be related to someone who sounded so full of life and vitality. It’s great to have people like that in your life, who light up every room they’re in and make everything more fun, and the world is diminished when they die. ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/7 "2012-02-07T06:29:51Z")
I’m glad that the world knew a woman like your aunt, and feel sure that it is a poorer place without her in it. Take care of yourself, and cherish her memory. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/8 "2012-02-08T00:11:47Z")
Sounds like an incredible woman, **Spoons**. You’re lucky to have had her in your life…and to have such fond memories both as a child and an adult. Remember her well. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/9 "2012-02-08T00:37:29Z")
It is always good to have, or have had, an Amazing Aunt in one’s life. I think aunts and uncles are the first parent-level adults you meet who show that family doesn’t have to act in one way alone: that there are other ways of being in the family. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/10 "2012-02-08T01:43:21Z")
Raises a glass of the good stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/11 "2012-02-08T02:40:16Z")
About that quote you asked for, it seems the original author/speaker of it was Hunter S. Thompson. It’s mutated into several versions, and I’ve included three links about it. But the version immediately following is the one I copied from a Doper, (can’t remember who) who has it as a sig line. Remember this motto to live by: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather one should aim to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, glass of Scotch in the other, your body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO! Man, what a ride!” > **[A quote from The Proud Highway](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/47188-life-should-not-be-a-journey-to-the-grave-with)** > > Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a... > **[Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos](https://www.yahoo.com/)** > > Latest news coverage, email, free stock quotes, live scores and video are just the beginning. Discover more every day at Yahoo! > **[Quotes & Sentiments for Scrapbook Layouts and Cards](https://www.scrapbook.com/quotes.php)** > > Browse thousands of quotes and sentiments to use on your cards, scrapbook layouts or other projects. Sounds like your aunt and my grandmother got degrees at nearly the same time! She sounds like she was an amazing lady, and I hope you have lots of pictures. Have a steak and martini in her memory! ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/12 "2012-02-08T03:02:04Z")
What a lovely tribute. May she rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/13 "2012-02-08T14:20:52Z")
What a great tribute. She sounds like an amazing lady and I’m sorry you lost her **Spoons**. Sounds like she did have one hell of a ride. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/14 "2012-02-08T23:28:27Z")
I am so very sorry for your loss, but glad you got to have such an interesting woman in your life, and thankful you shared her memory with us here. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/15 "2012-02-09T01:11:51Z")
Oh, how I adore interesting people. Without them, I do believe life would be pure drudgery. Since you like good quotes, lets post another one of my favorites in honor of your aunt: \*\*“They danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn…” - Jack Kerouac, On the Road\*\* And I will have a glass of scotch in her honor, too. Here’s to her thirst for knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/16 "2012-02-09T01:53:45Z")
Celebrating with you Spoons… I loved my Aunt as well… I know how you feel. Peace Love Hugs, from Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/17 "2012-02-09T03:55:28Z")
I happen to have a glass of wine in front of me right now. Here’s to her. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/18 "2012-02-09T15:34:28Z")
I get great comfort from the fact that there really are people like that out in the world making it interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/19 "2012-02-09T17:32:45Z")
Thanks, all, for the good wishes. Everything went nicely in Toronto, and it was good to catch up with a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a long time, and meet some I hadn’t known at all–but all of whom had their lives touched in some way by my aunt. I’m back home now, but I just wanted to thank all of you for your good wishes. They mean a lot. And **Baker** –thanks for the correct quotation, and cites to it. I just may quote it the next time I’m in Toronto, and visiting the cemetery. Together with a little Scotch, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053/20 "2012-02-09T17:55:14Z")
Here’s to your aunt - she sounds like a helluva dame! May we know her name? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-please-join-me-in-celebrating-the-life-of-my-aunt/612053.md?page=2)