Amelia Burgett

David
Pure luck. I was moving into a new apartment to be closer to school and Meli (Amelia) was moving in to be closer to work. We were on the second floor a couple of doors apart. I liked cooking, she liked the contemplative part of washing dishes. We both liked traveling.

We did a lot of walkabouts. As part of her employment contract was one week off for Christmas and one week off in the summer for a walkabout. It was nice just driving along together in companionable mode. Sometimes just meandering and sometimes with a direct goal.

After the movie Encounters III we went to Devil’s Tower that winter. Coke cans froze solid in the back but the sky was moonless and incredibly clear. Grand Canyon; Carlsbad Caverns; Marfa lights. Spent a night in an empty field and woke up in the middle of a herd of cattle. Explored an extinct volcano. The photo book for one trip was labeled “over there” as we followed many interesting-looking roads and trails. After spending a night in the tent with bears prowling around at Yosemite, we and our aging backs agreed to more gentle quarters. Hawaii was nice; Mendenhall Glacier; Hoover Dam. Las Vegas. And every so often she would suggest a leisurely Saturday drive to Kerrville for a Sunday breakfast with my mother at the Wall of Peace after church.

Holding hands was nice, but the most important thing was that she created a cocoon where she could guide our children to becoming the kind of men and women to be proud of.

I was afraid Meli’s passing would leave a gaping hole in our family framework. What could have been a hole is filled with her presence and her love. When we touch it there is no pain but a soothing warmth from a wonderful woman.



Catheryn
In life, some people see a half-filled glass as half empty. Some see it as being half full. In my mother's eyes, the glass was always half full.

In all my life, I have never met anyone with more pure, unadulterated optimism than my mom. She was the kind of person who not only loved the good parts of life but also thrived in its challenges.

My mom thoroughly believed that with friends, family, and a little bit of humor, you could absolutely get through anything.

And she had her own special way of passing that optimism to others. Almost everyone she met, no matter the mood they happened to be in, Mom would make them smile. In a world that is filled with chaos, the greatest gift one can receive is a reason to smile, and she had been that reason to so many.

Whether it was someone she helped in a legal aid office,
a neighbor that stopped by to talk when she was outside in her beautiful garden, or even my friends coming over when I was in high school (I often joked that my friends came by to see her more than me!), Mom would make them smile.

Having me as a daughter solidified my belief that her saint-like optimism knew no bounds since I have always tended to be we’ll say, “mischievous with a dramatic flair”. When I was stressed or sad, when it felt as if the weight of the world was crashing down, intent on suffocating me until the last breath left my body, Mom would make me smile once again.

Mom truly was an angel on this Earth and her compassion, zest for life, and that beautiful optimism she shared with the world will be missed by so many. She will be loved always and she will be remembered with a smile.

Kristofer
Mom would often tell me about her life growing up down in the Valley. Though they didn’t have much, they were and remained a loving family that would help others in their times of need. She had instilled in her hard-working attitude, a spirit for adventure, and a love of nature which could be seen in her garden.

She was always thinking of others and putting their needs before her own. Now that doesn’t mean she was a pushover, she just knew how to judge a person’s character. She once told me how her dad would bring home strangers and give them a good meal and a warm place to stay for a short while. In turn, she would donate nice clothing and supplies to the local second-hand stores and continued to do so till her last days.

During my youth, she would always offer comfort whenever she saw something was bothering any of us. Mom would listen and offer her advice in any situation knowing her life experiences had prepared her for it. She would always tell it as if it was not holding back, no matter how harsh it may sound. At times I could tell that we put too much weight on her as the leader of our family, so much so that at times she would cry because of our actions. These were the worst times for me because I knew it was our actions. These were the worst times for me because I knew it was our fault for making this person who gave everything to us, and this was her reward. It was at these times I knew I had to grow up so she wouldn’t need to cry anymore.

My fondest talks with her were when we would walk around our block with the neighbor’s dog and our cats, who would follow us as well. We talked about life in general, the past, and the future. Often the subject of my future would come up and I would make excuses for choices I did or didn’t make and in true form, she would always say “Stop putting up walls”. That was her telling me that the only thing stopping me from moving forward with something was me.

When I learned of her illness and the impending end, I tried my best to keep myself together. The reality of what was coming kept echoing in the back of my mind and I would do anything to push it out as much as possible so that she wouldn’t worry about me and focus on herself to get better. But the truth of her condition was she wouldn’t get better, that all we were doing was buying her time and all I could do was watch helplessly as she withered away. It was then that something broke and I fell to my knees in front of her and cried like a little child. I wanted to beg her not to leave it, knowing fully well that it couldn’t be avoided forever. But she placed her hands on my head and back, just as she did so many times before when I was a little child and comforted me by saying “I’m not going anywhere”.

Everything with a beginning has an end. Everyone who is born into this world must eventually leave it behind. Mom made sure we understood this simple and unavoidable fact of life. And while I many times asked her not to talk to me about it, I knew what she said was true and that she was trying to prepare us for that day. The coming days without a loved one will be hard at first, but we cannot stand still forever. She would not want us to dwell in the past that cannot be changed. She would want us to let go and release all our negative feelings by embracing and celebrating life. She would say to not put up a wall but to build a bridge made up of memories that connect us to her and to each other. Use that bridge to move forward in life and she will be waiting for us to join her someday with open arms and a warm smile to greet us all.

Rosa.

Amelia, my sister, was astute even in her early school years. She transferred herself from old school to new school by faking her former teacher's handwriting so she could take care of us better.

As a young teen, she took care of our siblings and the house chores when our mother was hospitalized for an extended time.

We had lots of younger cousins and when Christmas came she took it upon herself to buy them presents with her limited income.

I love and admire my sister for all the selfless and generous things she did.