The Loss

The mom of my nephews, Jeremiah Jon and Zachary Fredrick Mieska died today. Her name, Joann Loretta (Jody) Vogelsang Mieska. She was tiny and spunky and sassy and she loved to laugh and giggle. She taught me how to drive a stick shift in her VW Beetle when I was 16. She was living with us while my brother, Steve, was serving in Korea. We drove over all the dirt roads in the township. She never lost patience with me. She was barely out of her teens herself. She lived life fully. She smoked, a lot. Damn cigarettes!!  Damn cancer. She lost her mom, her dad, her sister & her sister's husband and her father-in-law to lung cancer. She leaves behind two sons, 4 grandsons, Luke, Owen, Jude and Finn; 2 granddaughters, Maddi and Lilli, one sister, Connie, and many friends. I pray they all remember her well, grandchildren are the greatest treasure.