In memory of Sandra Burton

 

Christian’s mother passed away in the wee hours of March 16, peacefully in her sleep, after a long bout with Alzheimer’s and a shorter fight with an infection that attacked her weakened system. It’s been a hard month for Christian, his dad, and sister, and, by extension, our household. After a hospital stint, then time in rehab, and back to the hospital, Sandra came home under the care of hospice nurses. Although they knew the inevitable, having her home allowed her children, Christian and Julie, to spend nights and days with her, and they and their dad were with her when she died. She was very much a family person, and Christian says he was pleased that her nuclear family was all with her. I hold firm to the belief that though she was unconscious, at some level she knew they were there.

Sandra and I were not close—in so many ways, we were of different backgrounds and had little in common, except family. She was from a small town in East Texas and brought to her city life many of those traits—the food she cooked for her family, her faith, her outlook on life. When I first met her, she was a real estate agent, but I’ve heard many stories about her years devoted to motherhood.

In the twenty years I’ve known her, Sandra was not only a devoted wife and mother but a grandmother, almost as besotted with her grandchildren as I am with mine. We of course shared one—Jacob. When Julie and her husband, Aaron, fostered and then adopted two little girls, Sandra welcomed them into not only her family but her heart. Of course, Sandra and I shared another love—Christian. I remember once when I tried to complement her on her son, saying he was so helpful in doing small chores for me. She said she only wished he’d do some of her chores. Christian told me later, with a laugh, that her chores were big—rebuild the cabin in East Texas, trim all the trees on the Coppell property, etc. After that, I tried in other ways to tell her how wonderful he is.

There will be a private burial in Pittsburg, Texas. Arrangements for a celebration of life in Coppell, where the Burtons have lived for many years, are pending. Rest in peace and rise in glory, Sandra. I hope you found those streets of gold.