Gwynth

My mother, Gwynth Lukens Woodbury, was born on this day in 1914. She was the youngest of ten children and her mother died when she was eight. Here she is with her six sisters, Viola, Frances, Dorothy, Norma, Florence and Thelma. She was the only blonde and favored by her oldest sister, Viola, who was left with the task of raising her.

Most of all she taught me to listen carefully and lovingly to others and to put relationships above all other activities in life. She had many friends and was always making more. When she visited me in my adult life, she always made friends with my neighbors, with taxi drivers and hairdressers. In her last year at a nursing home, she bonded quickly with her roommate and included her in all of our family visits. I am grateful to have been able to call her my mother.