A Special Friend...51º

"Jane"

Yesterday found us at my favorite picnic spot at Wallowa Lake State Park...It is away from the main campground and the pavilion, with only a partial view of the lake through numerous trees...Usually it is very quiet but yesterday it bustled with activity as the Williams Family and friends gathered to celebrate the life of Jane Williams...Balloons marked the spot, decorated picnic tables were covered with scrapbooks and desserts, including Jane's famous peanut bars...These bars were a speciality of hers, made for the 4th of July and other holidays and always for the annual Williams' Family reunion...She delighted in inviting grandchildren to help after she made cakes and frosting, then set up an assembly line where everyone had a chance to frost the cake pieces before rolling then in chopped peanuts...This was a messy, fun process where I imagine much finger licking went on behind Grandma Janes back as the dipping and rolling commenced.

We moved to Joseph and Barton Heights over 40 years ago and as luck would have it the Williams House was next door...Jane was a busy mother of six and very involved in community affairs...I think her life played out in this order...Husband Bill, 6 Children, Church, Sorority and Eastern Star...Jane was a planner and a list maker...She was a seamstress, an excellent cook and ran a tight ship...Everything was organized and on schedule and Jane alway had a project or two that she was working on in her "spare time."..She also worked substitute teaching at the local school and held down a parttime job at the Joseph Library while she still had children at home...Then she went to work full time as the head librarian at the Wallowa County Library...Even working full-time, she still managed to keep up with all the other activities and now her life included grandchildren...She loved making scrapbooks for each child, commemerating their life... Christmas, Birthday and Wedding gifts were all made by her hands...She always amazed me because she never took a break...As one years Christmas would be approaching and she would have everything made, wrapped and under the fully decorated tree, Christmas dinner planned and half cooked she had already started making next years Christmas gifts!..Jane was an amazing, talented, lovely lady and I consider myself lucky to have been included in her circle of friends.

Yesterday as friends and family gathered in this, her favorite picnic spot, to visit and share memories...laughter floated on the cool breeze, tree branches filtered the sun, tables laden with desserts...It was as if Jane had somehow planned and organized this special day...Farewell My Friend...Hugs To All...OWAV:)