Dorene -

A tribute to Dorene at the funeral Mass by her son, Artie, Jr.:

On behalf of JoEllen, Ron and myself, I'd like to thank you all for coming to wish Mom farewell.

Some of you may know that Mom didn't want a funeral. In fact, she made us promise NOT to have a funeral for her. I think the reason for that was that she didn't realize the impact she had on her world. She thought she could slip quietly away and few would care or even notice. We all know that's just not the case. She made her mark on the world in so many subtle ways.

She was a caring older sister, taking care of the younger ones. She loved pictures and Donna tells of her making arrangements for new dresses and a portrait of Donna and Jane. Bernadette told me of Mom walking the kids to the store from the Clarion house. She eventually left school at 13 to work at the family cafe and help to support the family. She was a worker.

She was the Martha in the story of Mary and Martha with Jesus, dutifully making sure that everyone was fed and taken care of but not in the spotlight. She never got to see the impact she had on the world.

When I was growing up she never had soft hands, but we enjoyed wonderful food from her beautiful garden. Things just got done when she was around.

As kids I don't recall hearing the words 'I love you' very often but we had no doubt that we were loved. Things like that tended t go unspoken but shown in so many ways. Everyone's favorite silent 'I love you' was Carmel Rolls. Growing up they were a special treat, hot out of the oven on Sunday morning. Later when we came to visit she'd have a pan ready and when we ran out (in about 15 minutes) she'd start pulling her backups out of the freezer. She was ready for us.

When we were in high school, she and Dad put up with our band. They not only put up with it but encourage it. I didn't fully comprehend that sacrifice until my son got his first electric guitar.

She was a second Mom to a lot of my friends. No one left hungry and no one got away with anything.

She was a good and faithful friend. Some of you have been her friends longer than I've known her. At Rotary Ann she got to reap the rewards of those friendships. I remember bringing her back from the hospital in June. We rolled her in during dinner and everyone waved and cheered for her. She finally got some of her spotlight. She loved all of her visitors.

Mom thought her passing would be of little consequence. The cards, flowers and all of you here show that's just not the case. She did make her mark and we'll all miss her deeply.

Mom, I know we promised no funeral, but that's a promise we just couldn't keep. Too many people wanted to say goodbye and we all love you. Go in peace Mom. Dad has his card partner back. Give him a hug for us.

We love you.