When I speak of my mother, I describe her as a saint. She did so much for so many people. And she never asked for anything in return. Her only reward was the smiles of the people she helped and to her that was reward enough. Although she was taken from us so long ago, people that knew her still speak very fondly of her.
My mother was giving, caring, loving, and compassionate. She helped everyone from the handicapped to the elderly to strangers on the street.
I was born the seventh child to George and Mildred Burkhardt of Laurel Lake. Ever since I can remember, my parents instilled values and morals in all of their children. We were taught to respect our elders, to show love and compassion toward each other and we were taught the value of a dollar.
Probably not long after I learned to walk I also learned hard work and responsibility. On Saturday mornings, bright and early, we all crowded into the family car and drove to the fields to pick strawberries. We had set up a roadside stand in front of our home to sell the berries to earn money for things such as school clothes and personal items that we wished for. We did this for a number of years, earning as much as several hundreds of dollars a month. We also picked corn or tomatoes or blueberries, whichever was in season. But people remembered my mom for the strawberries.
Everyone loved my mom. She was so well known and liked that sometimes people would stop at our stand just to talk. Mom always had a kind word and a way of making people feel good about themselves. Everyone in our small community knew Mildred Burkhardt.. When someone was in need she was there.
There are a few incidents that really stick out in my mind. One such incident involved and elderly, senile lady that lived not far from us. One night well after dark, this old woman wondered around the dark streets, dazed and confused and quite frightened. She became disoriented and couldn’t find her way home. When someone spotted her, instead of calling the police, they called my mom. Mom went right out and picked Jenny up and brought her mom. She stayed with her and comforted her until she was okay.
On another occasion another elderly woman, whom I had adopted as my grandmother because all of my grandparents passed away before I was born, called my mom in a panic. Apparently she thought that someone broke into her home and stole her purse. Upon entering the house the purse was quite visible. So we waited for Hannah to leave the room then mom said she found the purse behind the sofa.
In 1980 we found out mom had lung cancer. We were shocked and devastated. She never smoked nor drank a day in her life, she ate healthy and was very energetic. How could this happen? The doctors gave her only three months to live. We soon devoted all of our hope and trust into the University of Pennsylvania. After an extensive stay, mom was allowed to come home.
She needed radiation and chemotherapy treatment. I thought everything was going to be okay, we had a new found hope. But after a year or so she had a stroke and lost all feeling in her right side. Although everyone was devastated, mom didn’t let it get her down. She still took good care of her family, her home, and she stayed in high spirits. She even joked about having to wear a wig when she lost her hair from the radiation treatments. I remember helping her with her physical therapy after the stroke. Even though I knew she was in a great deal of pain, we often joked around and laughed.
On June 30, 1984, we bid farewell forever to our strawberry queen. I was never a religious person and I’m still skeptical about God but I had to ask ‘why would He take such a great person?’ She is needed here. She was very much loved. If only there were more people like her in the world, it would be a better place.
The outpouring of emotion and the support that came from all of the people that knew my mom was overwhelming. Hundreds of people crowded into the funeral home. At the reviewing, the eulogy read: (written by my brother)
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
A wicked Cajun Fairy named Robes Pierre entered the impenetrable Magical doll land of Sha Bebe. Queen Faustina, the ruler of the doll land, thought she had destroyed him, but he's back! Will the doll land survive his evil ways?
