Her Celebration of Life Memorial Service

I would like to announce the time and place in which the memorial service will take place.

It was Gloria's wish that it be a "simple gathering" at Riechmann Indoor Pavilion at Stephens Lake Park, 2300 E. Walnut St., Columbia, Mo.

It will be on Sunday, April 28, 2013 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm

....that there be "simple food, just a time to be together".

She was all about sharing, the joy in telling stories and that there be celebration of life.

I would like to express my deep gratitude for all of the heartfelt condolences that have come to our family. It helps.....thank you.

Her husband, Gary 

Her 3rd life

It has been such a hard thing for me to do.......write the obituary for my loving wife.

We all knew what may be the inevitable, but for her, not to dwell upon. Yes, she was reconciled to it.....and so brave.

But life was always hope and giving was her energy
and that was her focus. Yet, toward the end, so much came so hard and fast; I could say even unexpected. But peaceful at the end.

She was tired.....time to rest.

No newspaper obituary can ever do her justice and express such a wonderfully dynamic joyous life and beautiful heart.

All that will be for later.

But I would like to reprint here the obituary submission in this Sunday's (3-3-13) local paper, the Columbia Daily Tribune. It can also be read online at http://www.columbiatribune.com/

Her loving husband,
Gary

Gloria Ann Page, 1954-2013

Gloria Ann Page, 58, of Columbia peacefully passed away Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, while surrounded by the loving embrace of her family and a special friend after a long, valiant battle with cancer.

Memorial and Celebration of Life services are planned later this year at Stephens Lake Park and will be announced.

Gloria was born March 31, 1954, in Bristol, Conn. She married her husband of more than 30 years, Gary, in 1982 in New York, where her two sons, Brandon and Bryan, were born. After settling in Columbia, her husband’s hometown, she became a local juried artist with Best of Missouri Hands, established a hand-made card business, and went on to write two books on arts and crafts making, in which she inspired the creation of a whole new community of artists and new friends around the country. Also, for over the past three years, she served others as a senior caregiver with Home Instead Senior Care. A devoted wife and loving mother, she was the life and heart of our family. We miss her so much.

Gloria is survived by her husband, Gary; her two sons, Brandon and Bryan; her mother, Ida Rajotte of Santa Fe, N.M.; her three brothers, David Lagasse and Norman Lagasse of Santa Fe, and Paul Lagasse and his wife, Mary Jo, of Maryland; her uncle, Norman Rajotte of Colorado; her uncle, Marcel Rajotte of Massachusetts; her mother-in-law, Sally Page of Columbia; and her brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Jan Kaseta, and her niece, Kristi, and nephew, Nick, all of Florida.

Her brother Michael passed on in 1982.

In lieu of flowers, her wish would be that any memorial contributions go to further her sons’ college education and may be made to the Gloria Page Children’s Fund and addressed to Landmark Bank, Attn: teller, P.O. Box 1867, Columbia, Mo., 65205, or to her home.

Very Sad News

As her husband, Gary, I must give the most sad news
of my life....after a long and valiant battle with cancer,
Gloria passed away last Sunday evening, Feb. 24, 2013.

She went peacefully while in the loving surrounding
embraces of her family; myself and her two beloved
boys, Brandon and Bryan, and a very special friend.

She was the life and heart of our family. We are missing
her so much. But we know she has now entered her 3rd life.

A memorial service is being planned for later in the Spring
at Stephens Lake Park, a place that she loved and took many
healing walks, by herself and with family.


We will give further information as plans are finalized.

such a wonderful wonderful time

being together with people you love
how wonderful!

eight friends in Kansas
that state will never be the same!

from Thursday through Monday
we made stories continuously
there were times we laughed so hard
it hurt and I lost my voice
by the time I was on the shuttle back to home!

can you believe that we actually drove around in
a funeral car????????
yes, indeed we did
Pam works in the Lincoln Funeral Home
and her boss Bill gave her the keys
to use this humongous Cadillac
that has six doors, seats eight
and feels like a boat on the road

we toured around in that limo and did we ever
get looks and laughs!

in one small town we were treated by Stephanie
to one of the craziest half-hours I have ever spent:
renting and tootling around town in two
rented "limos" that were like surreys with the fringe on top
and had bicycling pedals for four people each!
of course the eight of us pedaling around
on the brick streets of the town drew quite a few waves
and plenty of smiles
and my legs got a good workout
especially when our "limo" decided to try to pass
the other in front - the "movie" of that scene
is hysterical...

it was great to be part of the art show
the gallery was so well done
with all 40 pieces together
it was interesting to meet some of the artists
and to watch the 125 or so people looking at
and responding to the artwork

from being in Pam's home
I LOVE HER HOME and her NEW BATHROOM and KITCHEN
are amazing!
to getting eggs at the local lumber yard/hardware store
from going to these incredible places like The Red Barn Art Studio
and The Garden of Eden in Lucas, KS
to the Goodwill in Salina
antique malls and other flea market type places
to eating Swedish pancakes one meal
and Mexican another
the fun went on and on

when you get to be together for a number of days
there are plenty of opportunities to share
on deeper levels
and we did that
when you have all these techno gizzmos and can
look at photos from years ago - like Wendy and Dorothy as Beauty Queens!
you can laugh so hard it really does hurt and feels good
and then Melody records our laughing and so we
laugh even more!

Marion's home has a view that blew us away
I got to sit next to Sue in the big limo
and that was a treat for me
Barb picked me up at the airport in Kansas City
and we went home that way, too
watching her and Pam in the kitchen every morning
making us all such a lovely breakfast
the stories go on and on...

I had the physical energy to jump into most things
the other day I did sleep for 16 hours straight
and had very happy dreams!

ok, work time
just had to begin the stories of such a wonderful wonderful
time
together
and coming home was sweet
a sweet note from the guys greeted me
and I found presents for
my boys' girlfriends
and that was fun, too

more to come

muchas gracias (sp?)

I do not have my Spanish translator guys here
with me this evening

thanks so much for all the encouraging input
it is fun to read

this nest piece is really strong
it is wired together and there is a lot
of hot glue holding it together

the angle of the photo does not give the exact
dimensional feel
when I get to Lincoln, I'll take a few more photos
it is always interesting to see how a gallery
displays all the pieces to make a show
that is an art in itself


when I was wrapping and wrapping the yarn on each
stick... it was representative to me of making stories
in life with others
spinning our yarns, I guess
every idea I had to start with
ended up not working out and so it was a constant
process of continuously changing gears
tweaking and liking the next idea better than the original
one

I am very anxious to see everyone
and to laugh and share
to see our artwork together is always fun, too

today is a special day for Bryan and his girlfriend, Olivia
it is their one-year dating anniversary
and they are doing it up in style
two romantics they are

they are out to dinner now
and I am going to get a few things together
for their return here
for Bryan's surprise for her
he rearranged the family room in the basement
into a wonderful bistro in the stars
with twinkly lights
and memory lane touches

the single rose, white candle
photo collages
on and on

time to wash a few dishes
to get ready for the fresh strawberry shortcake deluxe

thank you again for so much loving lovely support
 

mi casa es mi nido

"my home is my nest"

blur

the past few months have been a blur of time
living it was about all I could manage
the chemo that knocked me down
was hard to bounce back from
I kept getting sick from anything at all
that came my way

such a low white blood cell count
can do that

and since my tumor markers were shooting up
at the same time
I had to get back on a treatment
and did

it is "even-ing out" I would say
and so it is best to
"stay calm and carry on"

there were other things going on as well
for example
and perhaps most profoundly
was the fact that in May
with Brandon and Bryan
graduating
that completed something for me
I remember counting the months until Brandon's
high school graduation
and making the pledge in my whole being that
I would make it to that day for him

and then, after that,
to Bryan's high school graduation and Brandon's college graduation
and so it came to pass...

I had not calculated how much emphasis
I had placed on those three events
pivotal moments
absolute goals
my personal conquer-cancer Olympics
of the heart and mind
going any distance
enduring any pain
getting to those lines
yet they were not finishing lines
and I found myself exhilarated (and exhausted) to have made it
with them and for them

flailing around afterwards
without a clear "next event"
in a way...

then becoming sicker than I have been for a long time
made for blur time

there were many things to keep doing
like working every day
and for longer days
and that was good in its own way

one event on the horizon kept me thinking
and also worrying:
the message in a bottle invitation for the upcoming
art show in Lincoln, Kansas

for months I have had the invitation on my side table
in the living room
seeing it everyday, having ideas and more ideas,
and then being more stuck than ever before
in terms of having the confidence to just begin

a fear and maybe more accurately, an insecurity
about creating "art" overwhelmed me
just thinking was not producing anything that
could be packaged and sent

I asked Bryan if we could talk
more like if he would talk and I could listen
I shared my basic struggle and he took it from there...
his insight into me is very deep
since I could not represent him well enough in my own words
I will say that he knew what I needed to hear
and I was able to begin
and complete the piece

it was a huge struggle for me
"Am I going to embarrass myself if I send this?"
entered my mind many more times than once

Brandon and Gary, Janet and Denise,
also Brandon's girlfriend Mahdi and her Mom
(Milica, visiting from Bosnia)
all helped in the process as well
and I am grateful

I made a rather interesting "nest" as my "vessel"
and the title is:
"mi casa es mi nido"
(my home is my nest)
and I will post a photo tonight maybe

it is in Lincoln now and that makes me happy
Joyce, the Director of the Lincoln Art Center,
has been very kind and I am grateful to her, too.

and my packing of this rather large piece (30 inches tall)
impressed the FedEx person so much that I was offered
a job over the Christmas holidays!

Because I have been dealing with health issues
to such a degree
I really hesitated big time whether or not I would be
able to go to Lincoln as I have wanted to

this past week, it was the first time in a few months
that the numbers are looking better
and my doctor said that we could work out a plan
to make it work for my chemo treatments
if I wanted to go
and he suggested that it would be a great idea
if I did go...

but I feel that perhaps it is too late because I have
not been in the planning-loop with my friends
I kept thinking, if I can just get past this, or that,
and then another crazy thing would come up
(and then my mother-in-law had a bad fall
a month ago and has fallen two more times since then,
the latest this past Saturday - LifeLine knows our
number by heart, so does the ER.)

I guess I am asking here if it still might work out?

ok, I need to get ready to go to work.
out of the blur, into a more clear day