Sylvia Joanne Dollina

When my parents were here visiting my Mom called my Aunt Sylvia and my Mom said she did not sound well. My parents flew home on Saturday August 1st and saw her the next day. She had an appointment to see a Dr. that week. On Wednesday the 5th Sylvia was admitted to the hosptial and late Tuesday night the 11th she passed away. She was 71. She had cancer and no one knew.

Today was Sylvia's memorial service. I so wish I had been there. Our family was the only family not there today. I decided to stay because Davis is starting school and had things for that this week I decided I could not be in two places at once and needed to stay here and do that with him. It was a hard decision that I went back and forth on many times.

I did write something to be read at the funeral and I decided to post it here, first because I knew she loved to read my blog and see the kids and second for me--just so I don't forget where I put it or have a place to go back to when I need to. This is what was shared:

To each of you here today Sylvia was someone special. She was someone who touched your life in a meaningful and unforgettable way. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend to all. To me, she was a wonderful, generous and giving Aunt.

I have many fond memories of my Aunt Sylvia. When I was a little girl she used to make the most amazing clothes for my dolls. I was the envy of every little girl because no one else had one-of-a kind designer clothes for their Barbie or Cabbage Patch dolls. She has made each of my children so many things. She helped decorate their nurseries, created each of us a beautiful quilt, and created costumes for Halloween and themed birthday parties. Everything she made was an amazing gift of time and talent, always from the heart.

While everything Sylvia made was beautiful, she was also creative in other things she did—especially when it came to gift giving. She always knew how to make you work for your gift—I remember one Christmas when she gave boxes of Kleenex as gifts. You can only imagine the excitement on the gift opener’s face to receive that “fun” present. Little did everyone know that Sylvia had carefully opened the side of a Kleenex box and slid dollar bills into the box, so one by one you had to pull out a tissue to get the money out of the Kleenex box. This is one of the ways her creative spirit brought fun and laughter into our lives.

When Sylvia lived in California I got to go and visit their family. She lived right next door to Disneyland. What girl wouldn’t love that! She always made me feel cared for and loved. I remember seeing a pomegranate for the first time in her backyard. I thought it was the coolest thing that she let me pick one and then taught me how to eat one. It made me think of her Mom, my Grandmother Tyra, when she taught me how to eat cherries and spit out the pits. Looking back now it is a treasure that both of those simple memories are vivid pictures in my mind. And I hope that today, now that Tyra and Sylvia are together again, they are sharing pomegranates and cherries together.

Later in life when I was no longer playing with dolls or taking fun summer vacations to see my aunt that lived “at Disneyland” our relationship changed. We started emailing back and forth and talked more than we ever had. And, while it might sound odd, I keep thinking about how I am not going to see her name in my in box anymore; and I am really going to miss that.

After I moved away and started a family of my own Sylvia took the time to get to know us, and just this past October she came to visit us. I am so grateful for that visit. Davis, our oldest son talks about Aunt Sylvia a lot. He really loved that she mailed him videos from time to time, it made him feel special and it made me feel special that she cared so much for my little boys. I do wish that Sylvia had gotten to meet our daughter Harper because she was so very excited to get another girl in the family after 21 years of boys. But, they will meet one day, in God’s time, and in the meantime maybe she can help me watch over them…especially when they are teenagers.

I have shared a lot about what Sylvia has done for me and my family, but this is a big part of who she was. She was quiet, hard working, talented, gifted, and so generous with her time. Throughout my life she has been consistently there, and what a comfort that has been. She has taught me so much, and I am so grateful. We love her and miss her deeply.

For those of you that knew her, here is a link to her obituary in the paper: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tricityherald/obituary.aspx?n=sylvia-joanne-dollina&pid=131323764