I went to the memorial service for my dear friend and neighbor Ellen this morning at her lovely stone church.

She was a philosopher, anthropologist, and life-long learner.  She always encouraged me to engage in meaningful conversation.  She raised four children by herself in the modest house just one removed from mine.

This picture is exactly the way she always greeted me at her front door.

The perfect scripture for Ellen was printed on the front of the service leaflet:

Proverbs 27:17

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens the wits of another.

And here is the collective reading we all joined in:

She lived very frugally, never spending outside her careful budget. (There is a lesson there!!) She always raked her own leaves, mowed her own grass, and would never allow me to help carry in the logs for the fireplace she always preferred to use.  I will miss her brilliant smile and her brilliant mind.

An interesting aside:  everyone always says, “Jean lives in the Rankin house,” so I always say it too whenever anyone asks me where I live — I live in the Rankin house.  And today I got to meet the elderly Dr. Rankin  (veterinarian to everyone’s pets in years past).  What a treat it was to meet the charming man whose family’s spirits surely continue to reside at 1880, where they too raised three daughters.  I invited him to come see the house and he said he would.