Passages - The Greatest Generation

Hallie (1914-2012)

In the past three months, OTR has lost his last two direct links to the Greatest Generation. The first was Hallie who died in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, in early November, one month from her 98th birthday. She was, along with her husband. Ormal, his parents' closest friend from their years in West Virginia, from the 1940s through the late 1960s. In 1950 when OTR was four years old, Hallie and Ormal built their "cottage" - really a summer home - in Burlington, West Virginia. Loyal readers know how important the place is in  his life. He remembers vividly of playing on the sub-floor before the framing was erected, as well as the twenty years of experiences inside that would help shape his person and career. But a structure is merely a shell for the personalities that dwell within it. And Hallie was an exceptional personality. She was a loyal spouse who stood by her husband through a progressively successful career in retail management. She raised two fine children and contributed to the betterment of her community whether it be old or new. She was a consistent driver balanced with a sensitive and realistic approach to people and their circumstances. When times called for it, she could embarrass a sailor. Overriding all was her remarkable sense of humor. Smiles and laughter never left her although they had been tempered by her acceptance that she was the last of the old friends and had come to dearly miss her husband who died almost forty years earlier.

Aunt Violet (1921-2013)

His second loss was Aunt Violet, the last surviving member of his mother's immediate family. Violet was 91. She spent her life in the Potomac River Valley in West Virginia where the Ridge and Valley province meets the Appalachian Plateau. What the region has lacked in prosperity of late has always been made up by its natural beauty. It was a fine place to raise a family, and that she did - two beautiful daughters - with her husband, Bub. One of the daughters, Linda, and OTR were the closest of playmates and friends in childhood until his family moved to the Eastern Shore in 1956 when he was nine.  In those years, Violet often had to protect her daughter from the roughhousing one would expect from a boy. OTR's unsure when Aunt Violet first called him  "Nellie's little darling,"- an only and apparently indulged  child of older parents - but it stuck and has been mentioned to joyous laughter at every opportunity for several decades. Even in separation, for the next twenty years not one would pass without at least a shared vacation or several extended weekends together.

Violet was blessed with far more than humor though it alone would have been a fine gift in her hands. She was full of kindness, generosity and love until illness in the last few weeks slowly closed in on her world.  Of all the memories OTR could have of his mother and Violet, the fondest will always be the distant conversations, laughter and wonderful aromas pouring out of their respective kitchens. Love was at work there.

To OTR, Hallie and Violet were the last of their kind. They survived a crushing depression and a world war by young adulthood. As devoted wives, they were homemakers who did their part to raise fine children in an era of great national prosperity, opportunity, and challenge. And both survived to enjoy long, comfortable, and independent retirements near to family and friends. Simply put, they were the greatest, and they will be missed.