A to Z April Challenge: Y is for Yvonne

“We need to get together more often and not at a funeral.” How many times have you and a cousin said that? Funerals are much like a family reunion. You can learn a lot about a family just by looking at who showed up. Using my grandparents’ guest books and sympathy cards, I’ll be exploring “Who came to the funeral?”

is for Yvonne Ellington. There is no evidence that Yvonne attended either of my maternal grandparents’ funerals or that she sent flowers or a card. Yvonne was a family friend through membership at Cradock United Methodist Church. But she was more than that.

from Cradock UMC directory

On the day of my grandfather’s funeral, Yvonne was likely working. She was the owner and primary operator at Yvonne’s Beauty Salon on George Washington Highway in the Cradock neighborhood of Portsmouth, Virginia. In the 1960s, a trip to the hair salon was scheduled weekly. She likely styled both my mother and grandmother the day before the funeral.

In looking once again at all the lovely cards and messages from friends, I got a kick out of a note written by my grandmother on the back of a sympathy card. The envelope was addressed to my mother, so apparently Grandma was at our house when she wrote it.

Note written on back of envelope

I should be back from Yvonnes in time for supper. I have plenty food from yesterday so don’t cook.

( Lucy )

LUCY?? She never went by Lucy, so I think she was being funny.

Yippee!  There will be no yawning over the yarns yielded by yuppies, youngsters, yokels, and yodelers over yonder at the A to Z April Challenge.

© 2015, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.