This week, my dear Aunt Joan passed away. I have known my Aunt and Uncle Eddie all my life. They were married the year I was born. My uncle died too early, about 10 years ago from lung cancer. He had quit smoking some years before, but got cancer anyway. It was heart breaking to all of us, and to see the youngest brother go first was just too sad. Uncle Eddie, as I was to call him and he reminded me more than once when I left off the "uncle" part, was one of a kind, full of personality, with more stories than you could imagine...and a true foodie who worked most recently at Sysco Foods. He educated chefs how to understand and cook fish. I was unable to attend his funeral and that broke my heart, so last night my cousin told me my Aunt's service date and I have purchased my tickets.
Aunt Joan was born I believe in Connecticut. I am not sure how she met my uncle, but they were married the year I was born. The earliest picture I saw was one of them sitting together on the lawn of the Scheuplein estate in Crawford, NY. My guess was it was soon after they were married. We visited with them on our trips up to the New York area from Florida when my family went up to help my great grandmother with her home. One of my most memorable visits was visiting them in Danbury, CT. This was in 1966. My cousin EJ had recently been adopted. I loved their cute home, it was Christmas time and they had the most beautiful tree. And as I would come to know, the food would be amazing at their house as Uncle Eddie made sure he bought a pile of lobsters...my first taste and I was hooked. I remember shoveling snow..it was so high that year and being from Florida shoveling snow was a novelty. I was so happy for Aunt Joan, she had wanted a child for so long and now she had this beautiful baby boy. She could not be happier and a child could not be more wanted than EJ. I remember his Raggedy Ann doll named Susie. A few years later they were blessed with a blond little cutie with the largest blue eyes, Lynne Anne. Two cuter cousins I could not ask for and shortly after this to my complete joy they moved near us in Florida to the town of Merritt Island.
You see, my family is spread all over the United States and the world. I have never lived near aunts or uncles or grandparents so to have Uncle Eddie and Aunt Joan move near by with my cousins was just a ball of happiness for me. I loved family gatherings and NOW we would be having lots of those. Most of them centered around good food. I got to be the baby sitter for my cousins and spend time at their house and I became the guide for my aunt to show her how to get to the shopping malls, which in those days were a haul. One memory I have is of helping her to drive to Melbourne, FL along A1A and the skies opened up and a deluge of rain fell, so much so you could no longer see where we were going. She was in a panic and I (being the pain in the butt kid) was laughing my ass off. Noticing she was approaching panic mode, I told her to just pull off the road and wait it out. That is all you can do in one of these tropical downpours, it was just she had never experienced one.
I spent a lot of time at their home. Auntie Joan did not have a lot of money in those days but she was so great at keeping a beautiful home. She was organized and clean. She decorated the kitchen of their rental home with a beautiful pink flowered wall paper, or it was Contact paper--but it looked amazing and was perfectly done. I loved going there to see them, and to babysit and to spend time with Joan because she had the knack of understanding me as a teenager. I was a very awkward teenager and did not feel understood, but I did with Joan. She listened to me and always had encouraging words. She became my second mother. I remember once shaving my legs in my bath but I left a mess. She never yelled at me, but she told me to go clean it up. Not sure why I was so unaware at age 13 or so but I was. I was used to being yelled at for stuff like that, but she never did.
She taught me how to make the most perfect Eggplant Parmesan. I order it today and to me it will show you a truly good Italian restaurant if they can make a good one. She made a good sauce. I loved our Italian meals there. Uncle Eddie taught me how to make crepes...and that was a favorite I still make today as well. I also loved his ricotta cheese cakes as cheese cake is one of my favorites.
One time, I was jumping on one of my cousin's beds with them...you know the silly big kids with the toddler cousins, it was fun right? Until the bed frame broke. Opps! Joan was not happy with me, but again, I do not believe she raised her voice.
I remember our seafood feeds. We would go shrimping in the rivers at night and get bucket loads of the locale white shrimp. I have never had such delicious shrimp and when Uncle Eddie got a hold of it, he turned it into a delicious butterflied tempura battered shrimp...the rest we boiled with seasonings and ate with the locale blue crab we used to get...it was the best of times.
One birthday, I made my uncle a four layer chocolate cake. I was so proud of myself. It was great. Time with them was great. Then, the job he had in FL was just not cutting it so he decided to pull up stakes and get a good job back up in the North East. I was devastated. They packed up all their belongings in a big yellow Ryder Truck and off they went. This time to Cos Cob, CT.
When I was 14, mom and dad arranged to get rid of my sister and I for a month or so by sending us up North to spend a week with the Voegelin family, a week with my Aunt Delores and family, and a few weeks with Aunt Joan and Uncle Ed. We had a blast. This was the same summer as when man first walked on the moon and the summer of Woodstock. It was the summer I sort of work up from being a child to being a person. We had amazing times at each place but I really fell in love with Cos Cob. Uncle Ed took Nina and I on a world wind tour of New York City...he showed us the Twin Towers, took us on the Circle-line tour, got us cheesecake at Lindy's, showed us Horn and Hardarts, took us to the Natural History Museum. I am not sure how we packed that all in in one day but we did! He had grown up in Brooklyn, so he new all the good places.
Aunt Joan could pack an amazing picnic lunch. For some reason she could make a sandwich taste better than anyone. She would take the time to butter the break so nothing would soak through it and she used Durkee Sauce instead of Mayo. Up in Cos Cob, they had a stash of Entenmanns bake goods. Be it the Cream Cheese Pastry or the Crumb Cake, yup I was in heaven. Good thing I was thin in those days but a stay in their house was a stay with good eats. Uncle Eddie planted the most amazing garden done the Ruth Stout way, all organic and he manage to grow potatoes where he was told it was not possible. There you go Uncle Eddie! They lived on the top two levels of an big old house and below them was an Italian Grandmother who would start her sauce in the morning and it would waft up into their house. What an amazing aroma. I took to walking down to the book store as I was an avid reader...the town back then was so cute and tiny. I could have easily lived there. It was on the coast too and just lovely. Aunt Joan took us shopping for fabric and I made two dresses for school. Unfortunately, she had a very hot iron and it burnt through one of my dresses as I was pressing it out. I still have no idea how that happened.
At that home was a huge Bing Cherry Tree and I had never had fresh cherries. I spent a morning up in that tree picking and eating cherries to my hearts content. Those weeks I got to stay up in EJ's room up on the top most level. It was a very cozy room. I had my books and my transistor radio and WABC. I will never forget those days...
In a few years, I grew up, we moved to Huntington Beach, CA. I got married at age 20. And I do not recall seeing my Aunt and Uncle for way too many years. My cousins grew up and when Lynne was to be married 25 years ago this coming Memorial Day, I flew out to be there. They let me stay at their house. The wedding was amazing. Lots of the family was there. I was happy to see them and catch up. I was recently divorced. As a few more years rolled by my kids began to marry, Uncle Eddie and Aunt Joan came to Jared's and then to Jen's, but I think he was already ill when Jason was to be married and I cannot recall if they came. They did come to visit Wally and I up in Bedford, MA. They stayed with us and we had a lovely visit. They bought us a wine rack for a house warming gift that we still have today. We took them to Bedford Farms for some of New England's finest ice cream. Great memories.
There are not enough loving words that I have for my Aunt Joan or Uncle Ed. They are forever in my heart. I am really tired of the Grim Reaper these last few months he has been working overtime. I am sad to see Aunt Joan gone but I know she is no longer suffering. God bless you Aunt Joan and Uncle Eddie.