Being in the funeral business all my life, I understand really well that life can be short. As you can imagine I’ve had a front row vantage point of some serious stuff.
Such things as children having their parents taken way before their time to be raised by someone else, parents losing children to accidents and disease and adults dying before they ever get to enjoy the privilege of being grandparents…
I could go on and on.
It all doesn’t seem fair but then again God never said life would be fair. We play with the cards we are given and we make the most out of the life we have been given.
And that ain’t a bad deal.
Sometimes families are just blessed and when I see it I can’t help but smile. Case in point is this family.
Nell Wainwright, fondly known by local folks as “Mama Nell” is the matriarch of this incredible family and pretty much the matriarch of Reynolds, GA. Mama Nell is the widow of Walter Wainwright, a prominent businessman and peach grower from Reynolds. She has always been sweeter than any peach her family has ever produced – and trust me, they grow the sweetest peaches in the land.
Her daughter is Mary Ayers who not only was in the peach business for years but also served as Mayor of our fair city for many years along with too many civic volunteer sightings to mention. Mary has the distinction of being the first female mayor of Reynolds… and she was a very good one.
Mary Nell (catch that name) is Mary’s daughter and grew up two doors down from where I grew up. The Ayers’ family moved into our neighborhood when I was a young kid and we grew up together in the backyards on Macon Street. The best looking girls in the planet came from Macon Street in Reynolds, GA and Mary Nell is a member of that club. The funny thing is there were no street signs in those days so none of us knew it was Macon Street. But all the boys knew it was a very special place.
Laurie is Mary Nell’s beautiful daughter who has a beautiful daughter of her own named Taylor. And Taylor is shown here with her mother, her grandmother, her great grandmother…. and her great-great grandmother.
When little Taylor grows up, this picture will be one of her most prized belongings.
Five generations together on one sofa.
And blessed.
2 comments:
Bruce, I am not absolutely sure but I believe that I was told that Mrs Florene English was Mayor of Reynolds many years ago. She is the person that gave the ballfield land and other land to the school.
Now there is my favorite group of girls.
Mary has done a lot for our little town.
Much that people don't even know about.
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