IN THE MAILBOX

From Mary Anne Raywid's son, Scott Scheele

It is with great sadness that I write to inform you that our beloved Mary Anne (a/k/a Mom, Nana, Cissy) has passed away after bravely battling lung cancer for almost 2 years and pancreatic cancer for about 6 months. Fortunately, she was able to avoid pain, but she had very little energy or vitality during her final weeks. Nonetheless, she didn't ever complain about her plight. Rather, she repeatedly said how blessed she had been to have led a good, long life on pretty much her terms. Indeed, each night, when we would say "good night" to each other, Nana would say "Thanks for another lovely day." For our part, we were blessed with the opportunity to have Nana stay with us during her final months. It is some comfort to us to know that we were able to provide her with extra loving care during her darkest hours. Her time with us during those months strengthened the wonderful, giving relationship with our family, particularly our boys.

We are planning on holding two memorial services: Sun. Jan 31, 4pm, at the Fist Unitarian Church in Honolulu, Hawaii. http://www.unitariansofhi.org/, and one Sat. March 6, 11am, at the Farifax Unitarian Church, on Hunter Mill Road in Fairfax, VA. http://www.uucf.org/

Those of you on the east coast that would like stories, photos, or mementos shared in a scrapbook at the Hawaii service, and vice versa, please send them to us at the address below. If there's interest, we will have the scrap books available at those services.

If you are so inclined, we are accepting donations in her memory to the American Cancer Society at: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/DON/content/DON_0.1_Gifts_in_Memory.asp

Donations should be made in the name of Mary Anne Raywid Scheele. Acknowledgments should be sent to our family at 8918 Colesbury Place, Fairfax, VA 22031.

Thanks to all for your loving support of Nana and our family during these past several months. All the telephone calls and lunches are treasured by all of us and will always be remembered fondly.

Please pass this along to anyone you think would want to know.

Scott