This post is really more for my sake than anything else. It is about my family and some of our history that I want to record for my children. Since I print blog book every year - I thought this was the perfect place for me to record what I want them to know and pass down to their children.
Today we buried my Great Aunt Eder McKinney. To me she has always just been Eder or Dee. She was one of ten children that were born in the small town of Liberty, SC. She was the oldest girl and lived for 95 years on this earth. She never married and lived on the family farm with her sister (who also never married) their entire lives. Eder and Bootsie (Lucille was her real name, although no one ever called her that) were figures in my life as early as I can remember. I recall hours spent running through the rows of Christmas trees on their property while my Dad worked them. I remember meals where the "hoe" cake melted in your mouth and the vegetables were picked right out of the garden and cooked the same day! I remember the "cellar" and thinking how mysterious that was. The rows and jars of canned veggies always mesmerized me. The pan in the sink with soapy water to wash your hands in was also interesting to me. I never understood why I just couldn't run some fresh water over my hands to wash them, or why we had to wash Styrofoam plates and plastic forks. Now I understand. Eder and Bootsie were from a different generation. Although the world around them changed drastically over their life times, they never really did. I never saw Eder with her hair down. It was always pulled up in a bun on the back of her head. She was always wearing an apron, because she was always busy at home. In a world where nothing stays the same, I knew when we pulled down that long driveway to the "Farm" everything would be the same. I realize now, as an adult, there is great comfort in that. I long to return to the farm and see Bootsie greet us as we drive up and a few seconds later see Eder open the back door and come out to see who was "calling". I desperately wish my children could know this world of "days gone by". But these days are gone. These traditions and way of life have passed away with the last surviving member of that generation of the McKinney family.
Eder and Bootsie, although they never had any children of their own, were in a sense mothers to all of us. Their 14 nieces and nephews, 21 great nieces and nephews, and 23 great-great nieces and nephews. As a child I remember not wanting to come inside and "talk" to Eder, but now I wish I had one more day to sit and listen to her stories. Once she got started she would draw you in and then you wouldn't want to leave. I learned more about my father from listening to her stories of his childhood than any other way. They taught me that family isn't just the people who live in your house, but the people who helped to bring you to where you are today.
Family reaches so far into the past that there is really no end if you search long enough. Through Eder's stories I learned about my grandfather, John Charlie, who died when my Dad was only six years old. She told me about him being a hard worker who loved his family and did everything he could to provide for them. He was the oldest of the ten children. I remember Eder telling me once that John had a lot of extra responsibilities in the house because he was the oldest. She said they looked up to him. Although I never got the chance to meet this great man, I feel that I know a little more about him because Eder was willing to share "family" with me.
Eder will be missed, but I think more than anything the realization that family history is gone is what makes me the most somber today. Unless she told a story, took a picture, or passed on a tradition of our family - then the history that she held in her memory for 95 years is gone. We can not get those details back. What a lesson to grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Share your stories while you can. Our children will never be able to fathom the life that generation lived because they won't have the blessing of witnessing it first hand. It is up to us to teach them - and many of you know so much more than I do. Please share your stories!!
My sweet son who carries this family name has always felt a strong attachment to Eder and Bootsie. He couldn't stop going up to the casket and touching her hand. He always returned with tears in his eyes. I don't really know if he understands the finality of death, but he understands that he won't be able to go visit with Eder anymore, and that saddens him. Fortunately, two of my children were give baby blankets that Eder quilted for them. These are precious to our family and will be passed down and treated as the special family heirlooms they are.
The most precious thing that Eder did for me and my family was to pray for us. I remember her and Boot both telling me that they prayed for me and the children. They had a love for Jesus that was evident in their lives. Every time I went to the house they had pictures of missionaries on the fridge that they were praying for and supporting. They were generous givers to their local church and the community when there was a need. They often said they thought I would be a missionary someday. Although I don't live overseas or work in a church - I do think they were right. I am a missionary every single day to my children. I work for an organization where spreading God's message of truth and life is a daily battle. I believe their prayers and encouragement of me helped to reassure me of God's purpose for my life. They made investments like these for each and every member of this large extended McKinney family. These investments will continue to give them a return, even in death. And I know that Tuesday afternoon when Eder went to be with her Savior, she had many extra crowns to place at His feet.
There is so much more I could write, memories I long to recall and record forever. Isn't it interesting that we study history in school and yet the greatest history books are often living among us? History is your family's story.
After the burial service, I wanted to document some of the family for my children. This the is headstone of my great grandparents. My Dad's dad (and Eder & Bootsie's) parents.
This is the headstone of my great-great grandfather - O.M's Father and Eder & Bootsie's grandfather.
My great-great grandmother.
J.C's (John Charles) brother, my great-great uncle.
Sorry the post is so long, again - it was really more for me than anything else, but hopefully you were blessed by the legacy this family leaves behind. 
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