I am Matthew’s wife and I would like to first thank Aline for giving birth to Matthew.  I treasure my 37+ years of being his wife and he would not be here today if it weren’t for her.

Now I would like to share a favorite memory of Aline.

Back in the day when Nanny and Bop were still alive and Aline either lived here or was here from California for a visit, Matthew and I would go “Bingoing” with Aline, my Mom, and Nanny and Bop to Bingos on Jefferson Street, Our Mother of Sorrows, Holy Family, St. Therese,  Turner’s or wherever we could find a Bingo on a night when we were all free to play.   We would go early enough to have dinner there if the place had a good concession, or would we would stop at White Castle and take along a bag of burgers.

I will never forget an evening we had at St. Therese Bingo on Kentucky Street.  Aline always carried her “bingo money” in a little envelope in the pocket of the vest (or jacket) of one of her traditional suits.  Before the Bingo would start and all while it was going or until the envelope went dry,  Aline (and the rest of us, too!) would buy “Bankers” (tear tabs) usually $10 worth at a time.   This particular evening, Aline had purchased $10 worth of tear tabs and was tearing them open, hoping for a winner or a lucky “13” which gave you a chance to have your number drawn for a larger amount of money.    When she opened the last Banker of the bunch of ten she had purchased, she hollered “YIPPEEE!”  And we all shouted “WHAT DID YOU WIN?!?! WHAT DID YOU WIN?!?!”    Aline said, “YIPPEE I ONLY LOST $7.00!”    From that point forward, we would all yell YIPPEE and tell what we “only lost” rather than what we won!  And we probably YIPPEED over the losses a lot more than over the wins!   Truth be told, we may have won more on the tear tabs than we ever won on Bingo; but win or lose, we always had fun!

And last, but certainly not least, I want to let Rachel know how much we appreciate her for taking such good care of her grandmother.  There always was a special bond between the two of them.   And that special bond will live on when she gives birth to her first child this spring -- a daughter who will be named “Delia Aline”.   To have her great granddaughter named after her would please Aline.  Rachel’s kind, compassionate and giving nature is certainly a tribute to both her mother and her grandmother.