Happy Birthday, Agnes!

Dear Hearts,

August 16th is the birthday of Agnes Elisa Herrington: daughter of Phillip and Ella Herrington; sister of Darlene, Joseph, John, Ruth, James, Anna and Rose. She is the 47th grandchild of Uncle Bob and Aunt Darlene, and the 18th granddaughter.

St. Agnes is a symbol that holiness does not depend on length of years, experience, or human effort. It is a gift God offers to all. She is the Patroness of Girls. (FranciscanMedia.org)

From the moment she was born, little Agnes has had a line of adoring family members waiting for their chance to hold her in their arms. Welcome to another trip around the calendar, sweet Agnes, and may you have 123 more healthy ones, by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

God Bless Boom Boom

Dear Hearts,

August 16th is the 23nd anniversary of the death of Mary Frances Sheehan Wiley: daughter of John and Katie Sheehan; wife of Irwin Vincent Wiley; mother of Mary Claire Wiley Sullivan and Helen Wiley Whale; grandmother of the Chicago Sullivans and the Whalens; great grandmother to 32; friend and pen pal to hundreds more. Everyone called her Boom Boom.

When Mary Claire, Mary Fran and Aunt Helen were moving Boom and Boomp out of their house in Lansing in the early '90s, Boom's birth certificate was found and they discovered her given name was Marie.

Boom Boom died at age 94 after a beautiful life. A daughter of Irish immigrants, smart as a whip, brave as a lion and faithful as the day is long. She was an executive secretary at Hutchinson & Hutchinson at the Chicago Stock Yards and carried those skills with a passion into her private life. Her beautiful secretary desk--that Katie O. now owns--was always over-filled envelopes, cards, appointment books, stamps and stickers. We were lucky recipients of Boom's generosity and impeccable taste--top-quality everything, from Waterford crystal to thick flannel pajamas.

Thank you, Boom Boom, for your endless generosity and love.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dear Hearts,

August 15th is the Feast Day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of faith in 1950: “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” 

Since Mary is closely associated with all the mysteries of Jesus’ life, it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to believe in Mary’s share in his glorification. So close was she to Jesus on earth, she must be with him body and soul in heaven. (FranciscanMedia.org)

God bless us and keep us and save us from harm.

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday, Melody!

Dear Hearts,

August 12th is the birthday of Melody Rae Sullivan: wife of Peter; mother of Annemarie, John Jeremiah, Matthew Keith, Benjamin Charles, Michael Drexel and Robert Peter Sullivan; auntie, cousin and friend to many more. She is the epitome of Texas hospitality, creating a beautiful and welcoming home while maintaining an uncanny and admirable peacefulness. That says something when you have six kids!

With a great sense of humor and an abundance of patience, she keeps her family healthy, happy, learned, well-fed and faithful. She loves country music and I'm guessing she can add home school teacher to her resume since Covid-19 shut down schools.

Happy Birthday, Melody, and may you have 86 more healthy ones, by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday, Timmy!

Dear Hearts,

August 10th is the birthday of Timothy Michael Lewis: son of Paul and Margaret Lewis; brother of Mary Ella, PJ, Robert and William; nephew, cousin and friend to a whole bunch more lucky folks.

There is no doubt to whom Timmy belongs when you're amongst the dozens of cousins in Arizona--he has the beautiful red hair, adorable freckles and sparkly eyes of both his mom and dad. A real Normal Rockwell model!

Timmy is an altogether happy boy who is willing to jump in to whatever game or challenge his siblings and cousins present. He's tough and sweet and funny and shy.

Happy birthday Timmy, and may you have 116 more healthy ones, by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

God Bless Anastasia

Dear Hearts,

August 10th is the birthday of our great-grandmother, Anastasia Raftice Conick: daughter of Edmund Raftice and Margaret Bolger Raftice; wife of James Conick; and mother of Alice, Eleanor and Anna (our grandmother we called Booma/Mom). She was born in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 1857 and died in Chicago on September 13, 1923. Big Sully was just a little over a year and a half old.

Anastasia married James, an Irish immigrant who worked as a detective in Chicago, in 1884. She was a tough woman having to keep Grandpa Conick in line, and ran an efficient household. Anastasia was a classic Irish beauty.

Thank you for watching over us Anastasia. 

God bless us and keep us and save us from harm.

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday, Teresa!

Dear Hearts,

August 10th is the birthday of Teresa Whalen Francis: daughter of John and Helen; sister of Chris, Damian, Lisa and Mercy; wife of Dave; mother of Camden; aunt, cousin and friend to many more. 

Professionally, Teresa works as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner working in Addiction Medicine in Missoula. The clinic for which she works in lucky to have an employee who offers a combination of clinical intelligence, strong work ethic and compassion for her patients. As millions of practitioners in the medical field work through Covid-19, she had added tele-health provider to her resume.

Teresa and Dave have returned to live full-time in Missoula after decades of working and raising their son on the East Coast in North Carolina. Currently they live in the shadow of the University of Montana, Missoula--just a few miles from the Whalen abode where they all grew up.

Outside of her profession, Teresa continues the creative and artistic pursuits learned from her mom and Boom Boom. Knitting, sewing, quilting, calligraphy and crafting--she is a talented artist in many forms. Teresa is also terrific source for family history and stories.

Happy birthday Teresa, and may you have 59 more healthy ones, by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty