The loss of a friend

This past week I have endured the pain of the death of a dear friend, Geneva Ross. I had worked with Geneva at Gautier High School for 10-12 years. She was the type of teacher that students loved, teachers admired and administrators feared. Everything she did in life was with passion. After she retired from teaching, she became a "deck hand" on her husbands shrimp boat, the Joe-Gen. She spent the last 2 years side by side with the love of her life, Joseph Ross. If you have ever eaten shrimp at my house, it was caught by the Joe-Gen. They shrimped together because they loved it.



Yesterday we had a beautiful "Celebration of Life" for Geneva. There were many pictures of her and lots of her awards, plaques and "teacher goodies". The service was prayers, songs and a few people had the courage and strength to share memories with us. Family and friends brought boiled shrimp (very fitting), a variety of salads and deserts. I think Geneva would have liked the celebration.



Her death has been a wake-up reminder for me-- Life is precious and the time we have is much too short. I want to spend more time with family and friends. As a society, we tend to get caught up in our own lives and are forever busy--- this must change. We need more time with family and friends because that is what makes life worth living.