Page 17 - Gwen Landsberry - Eulogies

You know what I used to always say: sometimes you just have to go with
the flow. Hang on to that one, Rob. There’s a freedom and a power in
that.

And then I had a third and life changing family. It arose out of pain. The
pain of one family breaking up, and of our own family struggling through
pain together. When circumstances saw my beloved sister Claire take
on the daunting task of raising her 5 children on her own, our two
families merged into one, and through that I became stronger and more
independent, as did my family.

And what a life Claire and I had together! I think the phrase “never a dull
moment” was invented for us.

You know Rob, if every person in the world had stood in a line, and I
could have picked any one of them to be my best friend, I could never
have made a better choice than Claire. I was incredibly close to my other
siblings…but with Claire, we were like two sides of the same coin.

My decline over the past 8 years has been slow and painful. But, if I can
be thankful for one thing, it would be this. That when Claire passed in
2015, God saw fit to protect me from the indescribable pain her parting
would have inflicted, by depriving me of the ability to fully understand
that she was gone. It would have been too much to bear.

So, I’ve had a rich and full life with my three families. And I couldn’t be
more grateful, nor feel more blessed.
Before I end, I want to thank you, Kate and David for the love and care
you’ve shown me always, but particularly over these most recent and
difficult 8 years or so. You all knew that I never wanted to end up in Aged
Care, and you worked like a well-oiled team for many years to keep me
at home.
At the time I wasn’t aware just how much support I had…I thought I was
managing OK myself. I thought Kate just came down three days a week
for years because she liked to watch “Deal or No Deal” with some
company. And that you and David dropped in most days just to get some
Melting Moments.

And I know how you all struggled when the time came to make a choice
between seeing my life become dangerous at home, or going against my
wishes and moving me to Lansdowne. No one was harder hit than Kate.
But I want you all to know, you were right. I had 5 more years of life with
you all. Yes, my light dimmed a little every day, but for most of that time
we had many more good times together. I was treated with dignity,
respect and love. So never…and I mean NEVER, feel bad that I spent my
last years at Lansdowne.