today is a very sad day and a very happy day.

Your great grandma Elloise passed away last night in her sleep.

This is a picture of the three of us last labor day (September, 2005).

Your Uncle Mark wrote this about her:

Elloise Segebarth (one of my three special Godparents) passed away this morning after 92 years of amazing life in which she touched so many kids. She was a very special lady who taught elementary school for almost 50 years – including starting me off from Kindergarten through 2nd grade!! She lived across the street from us in Lowden, IA and had me reading some before I was even in Kindergarten. I remember one time when (at school) I asked if I could make a swamp in a sink for a plastic alligator I had. I don’t think I must have been very clear because after clogging up the sink with a first class bog made of lots of dirt, grass and sticks, I got a first class reprimand! She was an amazing lady who had a profound impact on my life. It may be awhile in our way of counting, but some day we’ll be celebrating a new and better life together!!

Though you share no blood, you inhereted SO many of her best qualities! Her spirit, her energy, her sweetness, her awareness of others. Grandma Elloise helpd my Mama raise me from when I was born until I was 7! She taught grades K-4 in a two-room country schoolhouse with your Grandpa (Grandpa taught grades 5-8 and was the principal). She taught me to read, she showed me that I was loved, she made me feel safe, she taught me how to laugh, she inspired my creativity, she taught me how to get along with others, and one of the things she did BEST – she role-modeled what it meant to be a strong, spirited woman in a world that often wanted to silence women. These things, and so much more, formed me… and helped me become the person God is making me into today. And likewise, I hope I am supporting the development of these characteristics in you – You and I inherited much from Elloise Ida Williamina Segebarth. We are truly blessed.