Mrs. Lehman 1903-2009, Rest In Peace

Mrs. Alma Lehman passed away Christmas morning at the beautiful age of 106.  She lived her life her way and passed away peacefully in her sleep.  She will remain a central figure in my life.  In my mind's eye. she is still sitting in her chair in her beloved garden waiting for a visit with her windchimes sending a soft melody into the breeze.  In 1998, I wrote her the poem below for her birthday.  It is somewhat corny but she loved it.  Even on her last day, this poem hung on her bedroom wall near her bed.  I consider that almost as much as an honor as having in her in my life for all my 34 years.   Rest in peace, my forever friend.  XXXOOOXXX

My Forever Friend

We learned of the finer things in life from a neighbor next door
Mrs. Lehman filled us with mints, Jelly Bellys and oh so much more

As little girls her home was the one place we were allowed to walk
So many times a day, across our yard to her door we would stalk

Trying to describe her stirs up so many thoughts:
A love for Hawaii and delicious award winning cookies, Russian Rocks


Her blue bird of happiness was always poised between the piano and her chair
The sound of her wind chimes outside always filled the air

Framed pictures on her piano told the story of family and friends
They continuously heard stories of her neighbor girls and us of them

She would visit with Shelley and I, while we took turns sitting in her comfy blue chair
We would drink tea with fresh mint leaves that she would daily prepare

And I will not forget the oil field painting the hung stately on her wall
Or the sea shells she loved that were spaced throughout her bathroom and hall

Summer afternoons served as show time when her “other grandchildren” came to town
Jennifer, Christy, Shelley and I were the neighborhood’s biggest clowns


With a plain white sheet as our back drop we delivered one heck of a show
All original scripts and characters…where we got the ideas I do not know

Then one day Shelley and I got the news our family was leaving 620 W. 5th St.
We were all so sad to leave a neighbor we loved and was just so neat

But she too moved after hearing our news to find a home in Kerrville
Although no longer neighbors, she is my forever friend and we keep in touch still


Visits are not as frequent as we would like them to be
But I know a card game is always waiting with that glass of fresh mint tea