DEBBIE-DABBLE BLOG: May 2024

I am a Victorian Soul, who lives in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion!! I just recently lost my Hubby Joe, who was a Retired Letter Carrier. I worked night shift as an RN on a Hospital based Rehabilitation( Physical Medicine) Unit for 37 years before I had Knee Replacement Surgery and officially Retired in 2019 after 41 years working in Direct Patient Care ... I am so glad that we retired at 62 years of age and got to spend that time together before he passed....I still do love Retirement!!!!

I DABBLE IN A BIT OF THIS AND THAT!!!!

" IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN"
George Eliot

George Eliot was actually a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans......

BLOGGING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!

Thursday, May 16, 2024

A Celebration of Joe's Life

Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

I am so happy you decided to stop by!!

Blogging has always been a stress reliever for me along with an avenue to share my passions which are my home and my garden.....

Joe would want me to continue doing what I love to do so with that being said.....

I am going to start posting again on a regular schedule.....

I will be posting on MONDAYS and THURSDAYS....

As always, click on each picture if you would like to enlarge it....

PINTEREST

If you would like to Pin my pictures, please click on them to enlarge them to do so....

A NOTE ABOUT COMMENTS

I enjoy reading your comments and will return the favor by visiting and commenting on your blog or reply to you directly here if you do not have a blog but I do have my comment section set to Moderation due to spammers and hackers so your comment will not appear immediately...

And since I have a very busy life, like most of us do, it may take me awhile to return your comments but I promise I will....

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In my last post, I shared some of the work I did manage to do in the back yard and patio a few weeks ago.....

Click HERE if you missed that post!!

I want to Thank Julie, over at My Wee Abode, for choosing my post, Spring Front Yard, as one of her features from last week's Tuesday Turn about Linky Party!!

Thanks so much, Julie!!

Please stop by and link up to this lovely party!!

One month ago today, Joe, my husband of 45 years, passed away on April 16th from pancreatic cancer that spread to the liver, lymph nodes and eventually to the kidneys...

He was only ill for 5 WEEKS and died only 16 days after being diagnosed....

On Monday, May 13th, we celebrated Joe's life with a beautiful Funeral Service at our church, Saint Maria Goretti, which over the last 28 years, we spent so much time at......

In August, while working at a Cash Bingo, Joe also served as the door man.....

On Monday, May 13th, Joe was carried into our church by my son Jim.....

Joe's ashes are in this beautiful mantle clock.....

But please allow me to digress....

Joe and I ran our Parish Flea Market for close to 15 years.....

During that time, we made life long friendships with many of our parish family....

At our Summer Festivals....

Not only did we play Bingo, which by the way, Joe and I met at a Bingo, but Joe called Bingo at our parish Festival....

I frequently was a Hostess at the Harvest Tea events.....

And Joe was always there either selling tickets for raffles....

Or helping me set up my table and attending the event with our friends....

After the pandemic, when we went back to attending Mass in person, we became involved again, especially Joe....

As I mentioned before, this past August, Joe worked at the Cash Bingo....

My son Joey and I attended and I even won twice.....A hundred dollar prize each time!!!

Joe worked as a checker....

He was supposed to work the Purse Bingo as a caller at the end of March but he was already ill.....

In November, we attended the Fall Craft Fair which I helped run for several years....

On the second day of the Craft Fair, Joe worked the cash box at the concession stand....

And I helped with selling chances on theme baskets with our good friends.......

Joe helped out when the numbers for the winners on the baskets were pulled....

Or maybe I should say "supervised"....

We loved having our friends from Saint Maria Goretti over to visit, especially at Christmas...

And we always had pizza which was Joe's most favorite food to eat!!

Joe's Funeral Service was private but I invited our friends from Saint Maria Goretti that have been by our side for so many years and those who were able to attend, did so.....

Many of them that you saw in these pictures....

We met our good friends Anne Marie and her husband Tony at the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins Hockey games, which we had Season Tickets to for 25 years.....

It turned out that Anne Marie and I had so much in common....

I often say that she is my Sister from another Mister!!

Little did we know in the middle of February when these pictures were taken by Joe.....

That Joe would be gone only 2 months later.....

Anne Marie and I were laughing because Joe never quite mastered how to work my camera and was having such a hard time.....

My dear friend Anne Marie was also in attendance at Joe's funeral service as was our good friend and neighbor Ed, who always says that Joe and I are like a brother and sister to him....

Many of you who have visited my blog for some time know that when my nephew John was battling colon cancer, Joe and I were there for him and his family...

They often attended hockey games with us.....

We even went to see Trans Siberian Orchestra with them and we attended our great niece's soccer games and ballet recitals....

When my nephew John passed away, I promised him that Joe and I would always be there for Renae and the girls....

We still went to soccer games...

Went to their high school graduations....

And still went to hockey games with them....

Joe even helped Caitlin with getting a job with the Wilkes Barre Scranton Pens at the Toyoto Sportsplex and Cortney a job on the Ice Crew at the Arena during the games.....

At Joe's Funeral Service, Cait and Cortney did the readings, Renae read the petitions and Carly took up the offerings at Communion with my sister Barb.....

I know that touched Joe's heart all the way up in Heaven....

Joe was an avid Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins Hockey Fan.....

As a 25 year Season Ticket Holder, Joe was honored this Hockey Season by having his name on center ice along with other 25 year Season Ticket Holders....

He even received a shirt with the emblem on it....

Joe was also given the honor of dropping the puck at one of the games in December...

Joe was so proud....

Joe also bought another new hockey jersey( he had close to 25) commemorating the 25th year anniversary of his beloved team and our arena which is located 5 minutes from our home....

To honor Joe, I wore this jersey at his Funeral service.....

My sons, Joey and Jim, each wore one of Joe's jerseys that I had personalized by having Barna on the back of them along with the number of our address on the sleeves.....

My niece Renae, my great nieces Cait and Carly and my dear friend Anne Marie also wore Joe's jerseys....

Our neighbor Ed and my great niece Cortney wore their own Wilkes Barre Scranton Pens jerseys and my sister Barb wore her grandson's jersey.....

Joe would have loved it and I am sure he was smiling down on us....

Father Alex mentioned Joe's love of hockey and that Joe even organized a night out at one of the games on March 9th for our Parish....

Father also attended that game with us!!

Little did we know that it would be the last game Joe ever went to....

Father also mentioned Tux, the mascot, who was Joe's buddy and even reached out to me in a FB comment on Joe's passing....

Father also said that being a Letter Carrier was the perfect job for Joe as he was a people person and loved to talk to people...

Joe was called "The Mayor" by many because of the amount of people he knew..

Our parish organist is a teacher and was not able to perform at Joe's service and wouldn't you know it that the organist who did was the son of someone Joe worked at the Post Office with!!!

Like Joey said, "of course he was"!!

LOL!

Father Alex summed it up with a quote that is in the locker room of the Penguins....

"Today is a great day for Hockey"

And that it was......

Since Joe's favorite song was "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin, I thought it would be only fitting to engrave that on his Leaf that I purchased in his memory for the Tree of Life at our Church....

Our church's Tree of Life is similar to this one ( I could not find my pictures of ours)

Joe's leaf will read....

" Joe Barna.. Finally Climbed that Stairway to Heaven"

Yes, he did....

Joe's Leaf will be added to the Tree of Life next to my Mom, Dad and Joe's Mom's Leaves....

And he, along with them, will be prayed for at every Mass said in our Church.....

My Angel is home with me again, after returning to our church one last time....

Joe's ashes are in this beautiful clock.....

His ashes is also in this Keepsake Jewelry for my sons and grand daughters....

The Twins will carry their G Pop with them when they are old enough to wear these necklaces.....

My son Jim will carry his Dad with him in this ring.....

And my son Joey remembered their annual Father/Son trips to Pittsburgh to see a Pittsburgh Penguins game with Joe's ashes in a hockey stick.....

The clock and the Keepsake jewelry along with this picture of Joe, which was ironically taken at our church as part of a Parish photo album 15 years ago....

Was displayed on a stand in the front of the church during the service, which was beautiful.....

Father Alex treated them in the same way that an urn or casket would be treated at a Catholic Funeral Mass....

I wanted to take a picture of the clock and the jewelry and of all of us who wore Hockey jerseys but I totally forgot about it.....

Especially at the end of the service when I broke down...

But take my word for it.....

It was really a beautiful and special tribute to Joe!!!

Afterward, we returned to our house where we have lived for almost 45 years, where I had this flag, proudly hanging on our front porch....

To welcome Joe Home....

Back with me....

Where he belongs...

Before Joe passed away, I told him that I would bring him home with me like my niece Renae did with my nephew John and he told me that he "would like that very much"!!

My family and my dear friend Anne Marie celebrated Joe with what else but.....

PIZZA!!!

He would have not wanted it any other way......

From the left...Carly, my sister Barb, Anne Marie, Renae, Cait and Cort....

My sons relaxing....

My DIL Danielle stayed home with the twins because it would just be too much and they did not want to take away from the Funeral service because you know everyone would be looking at the babies!!!!

Speaking of the babies......

I just have to share their Mother's Day photos!!!!

We celebrated Mother's Day on Tuesday evening, which I will leave to another post....

And I also want to mention that on the same day as Joe's Funeral Service, in the evening, our great niece Cortney received her Nursing Pin from King's College....

Cortney already has her Associate Degree in Nursing and is currently working in an ICU in a local hospital, continuing the tradition of Nursing in my family......

I needed to sit out the Pinning but I will be attending her Graduation on Friday at our Arena!!

And I know her proud Uncle Joe will be watching from above with her Dad and the rest of my family in Heaven...

This crew sure had a busy day......

Carly, Renae, Cort, my sister Barb and Cait, who will be starting her second year in the same Nursing program....

I want to point out the Renae and my sister Barb are wearing their Keepsake necklaces that contain my nephew John's ashes....

Joe would be so honored to learn that Cortney is getting a tattoo of 3 red cardinals.....

One for her Dad, one for her pop ( Renae's Dad) and one for her Uncle Joe!!!

Joe's Funeral Service was, as my son Jim described it, " Nice, quiet and private"...

The people who are most important to us were there....

I think we did Joe proud!!!!

And I do not doubt that my Dad was standing next to Joe, looking down and saying "That a Girl" with that tear in his eye....

Again.....

I want to THANK ALL OF YOU who emailed me, messaged me on FB, send cards of condolences and lifted me up in your prayers and supported me with your positive vibes and well wishes in the wake of Joe's passing!!!!

It has meant so much to me and to my family......

THANK YOU AND LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

In my next post on MONDAY, I want to share why I have not yet decorated the Living Room for the Patriotic Summer Holidays like I usually do....

It is because I decorated for Joe's Homecoming!!

So I hope you will stop by to visit again on MONDAY!!

Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment. If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......