7-19-03

To Doug, Ellen, Tony, Peggy, Dian, and Frank,

On behalf of the La Porte Retired Teachers, I extend our sincere sympathy for the loss of your Mother, Bobbie
Duryea.

I also knew her as a member of The Ladies Reading Club of La Porte.  She served as our Conservation
Chairman for many years.  Whenever I hear the phrase "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle"  I think of Bobbie.

Another fond memory is a program she presented to our club of her wonderful trip down the Amazon River.
Complete with slides, she made it come to life for all our members.

Bobbie will be missed by many, but she will be remembered by her many good works.  She truly lived up to the
teaching of the Girl Scouts by leaving this world a better place than she found it.

We send our love and prayers,

Sincerely,

Fran Sharp, The La Porte Retired Teachers Association
La Porte, Tx

 

Rainones and Ray at The Other Place, New Braunfels

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rainone.nb3.jpg Baby pool on the Comal

More Rainones

rainonenb4.jpg On the Comal

rainonenb5.jpg Rainone Rogues Gallery

7-19-03

Ok, Doug, Ellen, Tony, Peggy, here are some memories that I have to put out even though I feel enormous guilt for having missed the last two or so years.

The impact of the "Duryea weekends", especially my interactions with Bobbie, on my life has been surprisingly pervasive. My eldest son Chris' first fish may be the oldest clear memory
among a passel of fading, ever clouding recollections. Chris, probably 3 or 4 at the time, was sitting on the bank of the Comal River trying to catch something. I'm not even sure he had
the hook baited, but he was fishin! Ray Parschen had somehow caught something down river. He hid the fish behind him and approached me with a plan. While I distracted Chris, Ray
put the fish onto Chris' line and slipped the thing quietly back into the river. Well, obviously, when Chris turned his attention back to his fishin' he discovered his first whopper! After
landing the 4" sunfish, I patiently explained that, no, we couldn't have it mounted and while he wasn't too small to eat he should be released so he could grow bigger. The irony is
that six years ago, on our first Duryea weekend after a 9 year absence from living in the Detroit/Cleveland area, Raymond, our youngest son, who was 8 or 9 at the time, actually
caught his first fish in the Comal. He, too was persuaded to give it back to the river.

My fondest personal memory sits quietly among 1000's of internal images which have been generated over 30 some years- Ray Parschen actually doing dishes in the kitchen of the old
cottage, trips to the Bakery with Bobbie, trips to the grocery, Krause's and Granzines, birding trips with Bobbie and the kids to look at the swallows under the bridge, Tony dumping me
into the freezing waters of the Guadalupe on our first and only canoe run - "Lean UPSTREAM, godamnit, Duryea!", sons Robbie and Gabe (now Infantry Pvt. Gabe Rainone, 3rd
ID, Ft. Stewart, Ga now to be heading to Kuwait by Friday 25 July) learning to canoe, trying to sink each other, watching daughter Louise's growing fury trying to talk rationally to a
rather drunk Bill during a political argument, the last time I paddled Bobbie up the Comal and onto the Guadelupe, as well as fading memories of kayaking with Lee, visits with Jim and
Jimmy, Jane, Margaret and Bob, Mike Mason, the Crooks, and others who would touch our live on an annual or semi annual basis.

The memory is of the first Duryea weekend after returning from our 9 year sojourn to Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit. We had arrived at the cabin about 9:30 pm on Friday. I believe that
we called Bobbie and she drove down from her bungalow to spend the night with us. After the usual greetings, we all claimed bunks and got the kids to bed. The three of us migrated
to the back porch and sat in the light of a full harvest moon to catch up on nine long years away. I sat next to Bobbie and put my arm around her. She was my second mother in a way
and my appreciation for her strength, her stored wisdom and resolution to lead a full life at 80 stood me in awe of her. Sitting with Donna and Bobbie on that perfect October night
with that incredible full mood reflecting off of the Comal is something indelibly etched in my mind. I felt as if I had not missed a weekend and the 9 years away meant nothing. I
belonged there, at that place, at that time, with these two people. We reflected a bit on what these times meant to us, this extended family.  I can remember the feelings, the
understanding that came out of that conversation. I told her that I had always been proud to tell my friends that we were part of an extended family, that shared no blood, but
nonetheless got together at least once a year, at this perfect place with a matriarch who had been gathering her friends around her for almost 70 years. The pride came from being part
of this invited group, from having a permanence of such duration that most blood families couldn't match, of friends so strong that while we might not see or talk to each other for six
month or a year, when you got there it was just like you hadn't left.

Things change though, don't they. We all got bound up in survival, in late career growth spurt, in raising kids, still. And the weekend fades. Contact was lost. Maybe it was being
overwhelmed with day-to-day life, maybe it was not wanting to witness our collective deterioration. After the first missed year and guilt of not staying contact with her, I was just too
embarrassed to initiate the conversation, not that anyone would have said a thing, that's not what this extended family would ever do. I knew though when the call from Doug came
what it was. It was too late. I know that somewhere she is looking down, giving me that school teacher look telling me that I didn't and don't have to worry about what she thinks of me,
that's not what family does to each other. She just wants me to come to New Braunfels this fall. I just wish she and Gabe could be there, too.

Mike Rainone

7-20-03

Dian,

I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom.   I remember all the times she made our young lives so wonderful. I have thought about her and those times so often. She was such a loving and generous person.

God be with you and your family during this difficult time and may He bless you with His courage and strength. May your Mom's soul rest in Peace.

Much love and many prayers for you and your family.

Pat Rathjen Scardino (Houston, TX )
July 18, 2003
patscardino@sbcglobal.net
 
 

7-20-03

Doug,

Your web page is such a wonderful tribute to your wonderful Mama.  Bill and I
thoroughly enjoyed the times that we spent in her company both in Texas and
in Florida.  Being a nature enthusiast myself, I found her to be a role model
and hope to add many of her outdoor ventures to Bill and my future trips.

Please share our condolences with Diane and Tony. The three of you have been
and will remain in our thoughts and prayers.

Fondly,
Sandy and Bill Bell

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